w 


President 
John  Smith 

V-J  •_  '  ••»-  k  -^*B^  ^_ 


UC-NRLF 


dams 


Ther$ht  of  a  citizen  of  the 
'United  States  todemand  and 
obtain  work  at  waf es  sufficient  to| 
support  himseli  and  family  shall 

never  be  abridged.  It  shall  be> 


.allwhodemandit. 


/r    —^ 


Charles  M.  Kcrr  S Company 

Fifth  Avenue,  *  Chicago. 


PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH 


The  Story  of  a  Peaceful  Devolution 

(,  WRITTEN    IN    I92O> 


BY 
FREDERICK  UPHAfl  ADAflS 

n 

Editor  The  New   Time,  Atithor  "Spirits  of  '76"  and   "A   Corrected  School 
History  of  the    United  States" 


CHICAGO 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY 

56  FIFTH  AVENUE 

1897 


A* 


COPYRIGHT  1896 
BY  CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY. 


CXJ; 


Library  of  Progress.     No.  24.        Quarterly,  Si.oo  a  year.  August,  1897 

Entered  at  the  Postoffice,  Chicago,  as  second-class  matter. 


PREFACE. 

THE  following  chapters  were  written  in  the  autumn 
of  1893,  just  after  the  close  of  the  great  Columbian 
Exposition.  The  panic  of  that  year  has  passed  into 
history,  though  at  this  writing  the  nation  has  not  yet 
emerged  from  that  enervating  depression  which  surely 
follows  an  industrial  or -financial  collapse. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  author  to  rewrite  this 
book;  to  bring  it  up  to  date;  to  eliminate  all  reference 
to  certain  events  which  then  seemed  strange  and  por 
tentous,  but  which  now  aie  accepted  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  to  insert  in  their  places  others  of  more  re 
cent  date,  which  seem  to  have  a  significance  to  students 
of  our  commercial  and  industrial  development.  Not 
many  years  ago  such  an  event  as  the  legislative  theft 
of  a  great  franchise  was  regarded  with  public  horror.  A 
decade  ago  a  national  bond  steal  would  have  aroused 
vast  indignation.  But  a  nation, like  an  individual,  can 
become  accustomed  to  almost  anything.  In  view  of 
the  complacency  with  which  the  American  people  per 
mit  themselves  to  be  deceived,  swindled  and  robbed, 
and  their  evident  enjoyment  of  the  operation,  the  au 
thor  is  sometimes  of  the  opinion  that  he  was  unduly 
excited  over  the  events  of  1898,  and  that  perhaps  gen 
eral  bankruptcy,  distress,  poverty  and  national  deca 
dence  are  matters  of  small  consequence. 

Yielding  to  the  advice  of  friends,  the  author  submits 
"President  John  Smith1'  to  the  public  practically  as  it 
was  written  three  years  ago.  In  the  original  manu 
script,  John  Smith  was  nominated  against  William 
McKimbly  of  Ohio, and  as  a  gentleman  with  a  name  some 
what  similar  wa&  recently  elected  president,  it  has  been 


8  PREFACE 

deemed  proper  to  substitute  the  "Hon.  Mark  Kimbly" 
for  the  former  fictitious  character. 

The  author  is  not  vain  enough  to  regard  this  book  as 
a  prophecy.  In  common  with  all  who  have  made  even 
a  superficial  study  of  the  existing  social  system,  he 
knows  that  vast  changes  are  inipending,and  is  sincerely 
desirous  of  adding  some  thought  or  suggestion  which 
may  be  deemed  worthy  of  consideration  in  the  discus 
sion  of  this — the  grandest  subject  which  ever  demanded 
the  attention  of  mankind. 

In  the  recent  presidential' campaign  the  author  was 
an  earnest  advocate  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver;  not 
because — in  his  humble  opinion — the  consummation 
of  that  end  would  have  finally  solved  any  great  prob 
lem,  but  because  the  battle  between  organized  greed 
and  the  people  was  fought  on  that  issue. 

Silver  should  not  be  the  great  issue  in  1900.  It  is 
not  worthy  in  itself  of  the  struggle  made  in  its  behalf. 
More  than  that,  the  people  cannot  win.  They  might 
succeed  at  the  polls,  but  that  would  avail  them  nothing. 
They  would  eventually  be  defeated  either  by  the  cor 
rupt  use  of  money  at  Washington  or  by  that  last  resort 
of  an  influential  minority — the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 

The  great  issue  of  1900  will  be:  "Shall  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States  be  so  amended  or  revised  that 
the  rights  of  the  Majority  shall  be  preserved?  Shall 
the  Majority  rule?" 

To-day  the  majority  has  no  right  which  a  fortified 
minority  is  bound  to  respect.  The  people  of  the  United 
States  are  powerless  to  enact  legislation  for  the  redress 
of  their  grievances.  Instead  of  wasting  their  time  in 
an  attempt  to  paco  a  free  silver  bill — which  the  Su 
preme  Court  will  promptly  declare  unconstitutional — 


PREFACfe  9 

they  should  turn  their  attention  to  a  crusade,  which, 
when  successful,  will  make  constitutional  any  enact 
ment  passed  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  free  citizens  of 
the  United  States. 

The  United  States  is  not  a  republic.  The  Eepublican  \ 
party  is  not  republican.  The  Democratic  party  is  not  / 
democratic.  Does  the  Supreme  Court  represent  the  j 
people?  Are  its  members  elected  or  appointed  by  the 
people?  Are  they  responsible  to  the  people?  Can  the 
people  by  any  legal  process  remove  or  discipline  them 
when  they  have  trampled  under  foot  some  law  which 
the  people  have  passed  after  a  victorious  struggle  with 
their  oppressors?  No. 

What  modern  monarch  is  vested  with  such  a  power 
as  this?  Has  Queen  Victoria,  the  legitimate  successor 
of  King  George,  from  whom  our  forefathers  wrested  in 
dependence  in  war,  only  to  sign  it  away  in  convention 
— has  Victoria  any  such  power?  No.  Does  Emperor 
William  dare  disregard  the  recorded  verdict  of  his  sub 
jects  as  expressed  at  the  ballot  box  and  voiced  by  the 
representatives  of  the  people  at  a  session  of  the  Ger 
man  parliament?  No. 

As  one  who  believes  that  the  majority  of  the  people 
of  a  republic  is  right;  as  one  who  believes  they  should 
be  permitted  to  make  and  unmake  laws  without  an  ap 
peal  to  any  higher  body;  as  one  who  believes  there  is 
and  can  be  no  higher  authority  than  the  majority, 
and  that  they  can  be  safely  entrusted  with  the  regula 
tion  of  their  affairs  and  the  shaping  of  their  prosperity 
and  happiness,  the  author  dedicates  this  book  to  the 
American  people  with  this  sentiment: 

"The   rights   of  the   Majority   shall    no  longer    be 

abridged." 

FREDERICK  U.  ADAMS. 


To  THE  READER: 

This  book  is  presented  to  you  by  the  Majority  Rule 
Club.  Your  name  has  been  given  to  the  club  by  one  of 
your  friends  who  is  anxious  that  you  shall  carefully  read 
it.  This  friend  has  paid  to  the  publisher  the  actual  cost 
of  the  book  and  its  postage,  and  requests  that  you  give  it 
to  some  friend  when  you  have  finished  reading  it.  He 
believes  that  if  you  like  the  book  you  will  assist  in  ex 
tending  its  circulation  to  the  extent  of  your  ability,  it 
being  his  aim,  and  that  of  the  Majority  Rule  Club,  to 
place  this  book  in  the  hands  of  every  English-reading 
voter  in  the  United  States.  Address  any  communication 
on  this  subject  to  the  publishers, 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  Co., 
or  to 

FREDERICK  U.  ADAMS, 

56  Fifth  Ave.}  Chicago,  III. 


INTRODUCTION. 

AMERICAN  indifference  to  misgovernmenfc  must  end 
or  the  republic  will  cease  to  exist.  American  ignorance 
of  economic  problems  must  be  dispelled  or  a  great  na 
tion  will  miserably  perish.  The  United  States  will 
survive  the  panic  and  depression  of  1893-94,  but  it 
cannot  long  exist  under  the  industrial  system  which 
made  that  panic  inevitable,  and  which  menaces  the 
nation  with  a  never-ending  train  of  industrial  depres 
sions  and  financial  calamities. 

As  these  lines  are  written, millions  of  American  work 
men  are  and  have  been  idle  for  months.  These  idle 
workmen  are  honest,  faithful  American  citizens,  who 
have  committed  no  offense  against  their  former  em 
ployers  For  eighteen  months  enforced  idleness  has 
been  general  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  another. 
Thousands  have  been  waiting  in  vain  for  the  opening 
of  the  cotton  mills  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island; 
thousands  are  idle  in  the  iron  industries  of  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Ohio;  starvation  has  stalked  among  the 
hills  of  northern  Michigan,  and  60,000  of  her  people 
have  been  dependent  on  charity;  in  the  great  city  of 
Chicago  nearly  200,000  workmen  have  been  unable  to 
find  employment;  in  the  far  west  whole  towns  are  des 
titute,  and  the  people  are  fleeing  from  the  stricken  dis 
tricts  into  the  poverty-infested  east,  glad  to  reach  a 
country  in  which  even  charity  is  possible.  Vast  stores 
of  money  are  piled  up  in  the  banks  awaiting  the  com 
ing  of  the  investor  or  the  manufacturer.  In  the  ware 
houses  are  quantities  of  manufactured  goods  sufficient 
to  carry  on  a  war,  but  no  purchaser  calls  for  them.  In 
dustry  is  paralyzed.  The  manufacturer  is  helpless. 
The  capitalist  is  helpless.  The  banker  is  helpless. 

U 


12  INTR,ODUCTION 

workman   is   helpless.     The  statesman    is — but  there 
are  no  statesmen. 

The  most  remarkable  fact  is  that  the  American  peo 
ple  seem  to  regard  the  existing  state  of  affairs  as  some 
thing  natural,  a  thing  to  be  expected.  Certain  stupid 
reasons  are  advanced  for  this  wholesale  poverty,  this 
stupendous  waste  of  capital  and  wealth.  We  have  be 
come  accustomed  to  the  presence  of  this  vast  standing 
army  of  fhe  idle,  and  charity  is  now  a  science.  '  We 
seem  unable  to  realize  that  this  condition  of  affairs  is 
an  awful  mistake,  a  colossal  and  unnatural  crime,  an 
atrocious  and  unparalleled  outrage.  The  dark  pages 
of  history,  reciting  the  cruelties  of  barbaric  ages,  tell 
no  tale  which  can  match  in  horror  the  awful  tragedy 
of  1893-94—15,000,000  innocent  people  condemned 
through  the  long  months  of  winter  to  idleness,  pauper 
ism,  suicide  and  crime  in  a  free  country,  under  the 
stars  and  stripes  of  a  republic. 

We  have  been  schooled  to  expect  a  recurrence  of 
these  periods  of  hard  times.  The  majority  of  our  peo 
ple  believe  that  such  periods  have  always  prevailed, 
that  they  cannot  be  averted,  and  that  it  is  patriotic  to 
submit  patiently  to  such  seasons  of  suffering. 

A  certain  class  complacently  declares  that  every  thing 
is  all  right  and  that  people  who  do  not  like  the  way 
things  are  run  in  this  country  are  at  liberty  to  get  out 
of  it. 

There  exists  another  class  which  imagines  that  this 
is  a  matter  in  which  workmen  alone  are  interested. 
They  declare  that  the  rich  oppress  the  poor,  that 
wealth  is  unequally  distributed,  and  that  capital  is 
reaping  great  rewards  from  the  depression  of  industry. 
All  of  which  is  false.  The  rich,  as  a  class,  are  not  op 
pressing  the  poor;  on  the  contrary,  the  world  has  never 
witnessed  such  generosity  as  has  recently  been  dis 
played  by  the  wealthy  people  of  America.  Wealth  is 
not  fairly  distributed,  but  if  it  were  the  situation  would 
not  in  the  slightest  degree  be  permanently  improved. 
We  would  all  be  poor.  Productive  capital  reaps  no 
financial  harvest  in  these  periods  of  hard  times.  This  is 


INTRODUCTION  13 

not  an  issue  between  capital  and  labor.  Both  are  suf 
ferers  from  existing  conditions,  but  capital  is  in  the 
greater  danger  and  has  sustained  enormous  losses. 

This  is  not  a  question  of  sentiment  or   of   patriot 
ism  or  of  bombast.     It  is  a  plain  matter  of  business. 
It  is  a  question  of  facts  and  figures.   The  United  States 
cannot   exist   under    the   present    industrial    system. 
Capital  cannot  make  profits  and  workmen  cannot  ob 
tain  employment  or  wages.   The  system  is  inoperative. 
The   industrial    machine   has    locked  itself.      After  a 
while  it  will  start  again, run  for  a  shorter  interval  than 
before,  and  again  lock  itself.      And  in  this  process  cap 
ital  will  be  destroyed  and  labor  will  starve.  This  is  no 
prophecy  of  things  to  come.     It  has  already  happened. 
The  country  is  poorer  than  it  was  a  year  ago.   National 
wealth  has  decreased.   We  are  forced  for  a  time  to  con- 
jume  more  than  we  produce.   We  are  compelled  to  re- 
7naiu  idle  because  there  is  no  work.     There  is  no  work 
because  we  have  already  created  more  than  the  people 
can  buy.    The  people  cannot  buy  because  they  have  no 
work  and  no  money.     The  manufacturer  and  merchant 
fail  because  there  are  no  customers. 
U-^That  is  our  industrial  system.     Clear  your  brains  a 
moment  and  take  a  calm,  dispassionate  survey  of  it. 
It  does  not  seem  possible  that  intelligent  human  beings 
\£ould  consent  to  exist  under  such  an  idiotic  system. 
r \Ve  are  poor  because  we  are  rich;  we  are  in  distress  be-\ 
/    cause  we  have   created  more  than  we  know  what  to  do  j 

with;  we  have  invented  machinery  so  perfect   that   we 
•     are  about  to  perish  for  Jack  of  employment;  the  un-  j 
happy  da'y  has  come  when  there  is  no  work. 

Who  gains  by  the  continuance  of  this  system?  No 
one.  It  entails  a  direct  loss  on  every  citizen  of  the  re 
public.  It  has  no  intelligent  defender.  It  survives  be 
cause  the  American  people  have  been  too  indifferent  or 
too  ignorant  on  economic  questions  to  make  a  change. 
The  business  men  of  America  must  become  politicians. 
They  have  a  problem  in  government  to  solve.  They 
must  take  a  few  lessons  in  political  economy.  They 
must  take  immediate  steps  to  forever  abolish  hard 
times;  if  not,  hard  times  will  abolish  them. 


14  INTRODUCTION 

Millions  of  men  are  idle  in  the  United  States  to-day. 
They  are  miserably  existing  either  on  charity  or  from 
the  scanty  hoard  saved  from  times  of  employment. 
The  majority  of  them  are  being  supported  by  the  com 
munity.  Who  defrays  the  greater  part  of  this  enor 
mous  expense?  The  rich.  They  pay  it  in  public  char 
ities,  in  private  charities,  and  in  added  taxation.  They 
cannot  escape  it.  Society  will  not  permit  the  starva 
tion  of  these  idle  millions  and  their  dependent  families. 
In  periods  of  severe  industrial  depression  the  masses 
may  suffer  from  hunger,  but  the  financial  loss  falls 
upon  capital. 

The  waste  of  production  ia  enormous.  The  loss  to 
capital  is  almost  incalculable.  At  a  conservative  esti 
mate,  3, 000, 000  men  have  been  idle  in  the  United  States 
for  over  a  year.  Reliable  statistics  place  the  average 
producing  power  of  workmen  at  $2,000  per  year.  Six 
billions  of  dollars  a  year— $20,000,000  a  day.  Cut  these 
figures  in  two;  quarter  them  if  you  will,  and  they  yet 
remain  beyond  comprehension.  And  every  dollar  of 
this  is  forever  lost.  That  $20,000,000  a  day  represents 
the  value  of  food,  clothes,  comforts  and  luxuries  which 
3,000,000  men  would  have  created  had  they  been  given 
a  chance.  Their  labor  would  have  created  this  value, 
but  society  shackled  their  arms,  sentenced  them  to 
idleness,  and  at  a  vast  expense  supported  them  as  pau 
pers.  Every  man  at  work  stands  as  an  asset  in  the 
trial  balance  of  national  wealth  and  production;  every 
idle  man  must  be  scheduled  as  a  liability  and  a  loss. 
He  is  an  incumbrance.  He  must  be  fed  and  clothed 
and  provided  for.  No  system  which  forces  men  into 
idleness  is  practical,  nor  can  it  long  exist. 

Unless  this  book  shall  shock  many  good  people  it  has 
been  written  in  vain.  As  an  American  citizen  who  can 
trace  his  ancestry  back  to  a  time  when  no  citizen  was 
idle  except  from  choice,  to  a  time  when  the  American 
nation  was  a  nation  of  freemen,  patriots  and  fighters, 
the  author  has  assumed  that  he  has  the  right  to  criti 
cise  and  even  denounce  any  of  the  so-called  American 
institutions  as  they  now  exist,  not  excepting  the  COD- 


INTRODUCTION  15 

stitution  of  the  United  States  and   the  Standard   Oil 
trust. 

It  is  time  to  discuss  these  matters.  It  is  time  to  con 
sider  practical  remedies  It  is  time  for  plain  talk.  It 
is  time  for  the  flag-waver  and  professional  patriot  to 
stand  aside  and  permit  the  business  men,  manufactur 
ers  and  workmen  of  the  nation  to  agree  upon  a  plan 
of  action. 

In  the  chapters  which  follow,  the  author  has  been 
rash  enough  to  criticise  and  attack  some  of  the  sections 
of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  Americanism  iiji 
older  than  the  constitution.  Patriotism  had  riot  ifs 
birth  with  the  framing  of  that  document,  and  patriots 
may  breathe  the  free  air  of  America  when  the  consti 
tution  as  it  now  exists  is  discarded  forever.  If  our 
form  of  government  is  perfect  it  can  withstand  the 
feeble  attacks  of  deluded  would-be  reformers.  If  it  is 
faulty  in  any  respect  the  stupid  veneration  which  is  at 
tracted  to  any  antiquity  cannot  long  stand  in  the  way 
of  common  sense.  If  the  American  republic  has  out 
grown  the  constitution  it  is  the  first  duty  of  its  people 
either  to  alter  or  abolish  it.  All  knowledge  of  govern 
ment  did  not  perish  from  the  earth  with  the  death  of 
the  founders  of  the  constitution. 

If  it  is  visionary  to  suggest  that  in  a  republic  the 
majority  should  be  permitted  to  rule — this  book  is  vi 
sionary. 

If  it  is  Utopian  to  urge  an  industrial  system  in  which 
a  willing  man  shall  not  be  denied  the  opportunity  to 
work,  obtain  wages,  and  support  himself  instead  of  be 
ing  an  expense  to  the  community — this  book  is  Uto 
pian. 


SIGN  IN  THE  HEAVENS.    (See  page  23) 


PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ANARCHIST  CONSPIRACY. 

THERE  was  nothing  to  indicate  impending  trouble 
that  beautiful  spring  afternoon.  The  streets  of  Chi 
cago  resounded  with  the  accustomed  roar  of  traffic, and 
hurrying  pedestrians  dodged  truck  and  cable  cars  heed 
less  of  aught  but  the  immediate  cares  of  life.  The  af 
ternoon  papers  contained  no  hint  of  threatened  danger, 
and  the  afternoon  of  May  23,  1899,  drew  to  a  close  as 
uneventful  as  thousands  whinh  had  preceded  it. 

It  was  the  afternoon  before  the  anarchist  riot— the 
last  demonstration  of  force  anarchy  in  America.  A 
prolonged  period  of  industrial  and  commercial  depres 
sion  with  its  train  of  poverty  and  suffering  had  revived 
the  anarchists'  groups,  scattered  and  dismembered 
since  the  Haymarket  tragedy  of  years  before.  Of  the 
extent  of  this  movement  the  press  and  public  knew  lit 
tle,  but  it  was  an  open  book  to  the  police  department. 

Chief  of  Police  Sullivan  was  alone  in  his  private  office. 
The  din  of  the  street  came  in  through  a  half-open  win 
dow,  but  the  chief  heard  it  not.  Intent  on  the  study 
of  a  strangely  marked  map,  he  hardly  noted  the  ap 
proach  of  his  secretary,  who  announced  the  name  of  a 
well-known  detective. 

uTell  him  to  come  in,"  said  the  chief.  A  slightly 
built  man  entered  the  room,  saluted  his  superior,  and 
drew  a  chair  up  to  the  desk.  Sullivan  eyed  his  officer 
curiously  and  waited  for  him  to  break  the  silence. 

"They  make  the  attack  to-night,"  the  detective  said. 

17 


18  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

"To-night?"  repeated  the  chief,  slightly  astonished. 
"Why  have  they  changed  their  plans?" 

"They  are  suspicious  that  spies  are  at  work,  I  had 
to  knock  a  red  down  last  night,  who  made  a  sort  of  in 
sinuation  that  I  was  not  all  right." 

The  chief  pressed  a  button  and  a  clerk  responded. 
He  was  instructed  to  send  messengers  to  all  the  cap 
tains  and  inspectors  for  a  meeting  in  the  chief's  office 
a  4  o'clock.  An  earnest  conversation  followed. 

"Have  you  the  signal  which  has  been  agreed  upon?" 
asked  the  chief. 

"'Watch  thesky  at  about  11:30, 'is  all  the  instructions 
they  have  sent  around,"  replied  the  detective  "John 
son  expects  to  get  the  details  before  night,  but  the 
signal  is  known  only  to  three  or  four  men  and  I  am 
afraid  he  won't  get  it.  We  know  as  much  about  it  as 
the  reds  do,  and  can' watch  the  sky'  and  them  too." 

"The  big  parade  of  the  unemployed  comes  off  to 
night,"  said  the  chief.  "I  am  sorry  now  I  issued  a 
permit  for  it,  though  the  poor  devils  are  harmless 
enough  if  let  alone.  I  have  an  idea  that  the  reds  are 
calculating  on  assistance  from  the  men  in  the  proces 
sion.  We  will  see  about  that." 

Every  detail  of  the  conspiracy,  excepting  the  signal, 
was  known  to  the  police.  The  anarchists  had  enrolled 
1,200  desperate  men  in  the  various  groups,  and  for  sev 
eral  months  had  been  planning  a  revolution.  The  time 
was  ripe  for  trouble.  They  expected  to  blow  up  the 
police  stations,  rout  the  police,  and  capture  the  city 
hall  and  the  various  armories.  They  anticipated  that 
their  temporary  success  would  bring  to  their  support 
the  thousands  of  idle  workmen,  who  for  weeks  had  been, 
whenever  permitted,  parading  the  streets  with  banners 
and  transparencies  demanding  work.  The  anarchist  plot 
was  sheer  folly,  and  even  had  they  succeeded  in  defeat 
ing  the  police  their  success  would  have  been  short 
lived.  As  it  was  they  were  walking  into  a  carefully  laid 
trap,  to  almost  certain  death.  For  a  week  the  police 
stations  had  been  guarded  at  night  by  detachments  of 
militiamen  and  volunteers, carefully  selected  and  sworn 


THE    ANARCHIST   CONSPIRACY  19 

to  secrecy.  With  great  caution  Gatlingand  other  rapid- 
firing  guns  were  transferred  from  armories  to  the  police 
stations.  The  arrangements  were  all  completed,  and 
at  the  4  o'clock  conference  Chief  Sullivan  issued  final 
instructions  to  his  officers. 

"Don't  shoot  before  they  show  themselves,"  he  said. 
uTell  your  men  not  to  be  afraid  of  any  dynamite  bombs 
which  may  be  thrown  through  the  windows.  They 
won't  hurt  anything.  Our  men  made  the  bombs  them 
selves,  and  they  are  filled  with  as  fine  a  brand  of  sand 
and  sawdust  as  you  ever  saw.  The  reds  have  plenty  of 
guns  and  will  use  them.  Warn  your  men  not  to  expose 
themselves  until  after  the  first  volley.  Have  them  keep 
on  the  inside  of  the  building.  The  men  in  the  sur 
rounding  buildings  will  take  care  of  the  re<?s  when  they 
break  and  run.  Don't  shoot  to  kill  after  the  first  vol 
ley." 

At  9  o'clock  that  evening  1,200  officers  and  2,000 
armed  citizens  were  massed  in  and  around  the  police 
stations,  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  anarchists.  It 
was  a  merciless  arrangement,  but  it  was  a  fight  in  which 
neither  side  gave  or  accepted  quarter.  The  anarchists 
were  longing  for  revenge.  They  had  not  forgotten  the 
execution  of  Spies,  Parsons,  Engel,  Fischer  and  Lingg, 
and  the  police  had  not  forgotten  the  dead  and  mangled 
officers  who  lay  bathed  in  blood  on  the  cold  pavements 
of  the  Haymarket  that  eventful  night  of  May  4,  1886. 
The  anarchists  had  lost  all  patience  with  the  labor 
movement,  and  denounced  the  men  who  were  march 
ing  the  streets  in  parades  of  the  unemployed  as  cow 
ards  and  weaklings. 

In  the  streets  along  the  river  hundreds  of  idle  men 
lounged  away  that  beautiful  spring  afternoon.  They 
leaned  against  the  walls  of  buildings  on  the  sunny  side 
of  the  street  and  sullenly  regarded  the  well-dressed 
passer-by.  Some  were  looking  for  work,  waiting  day 
after  day  for  some  one  to  come  along  with  the  glad 
offer  of  employment.  Others  were  loafers.  There  may 
have  been  a  time  when  they  wanted  work,  but  that  time 
was  forever  past.  They  were  tramps,  some  of  them, 


20  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

and  others  were  far  more  dangerous  than  the  shiftless 
vagabond  tramp.  The  bridewell  knew  them  well,  and 
the  frowning  walls  of  Joliet  only  awaited  them. 

Chief  Sullivan  and  his  officers  met  in  conference  at 
4  o'clock.  Fifteen  reporters  met  in  an  adjoining  room. 
The  conference  lasted  for  an  hour.  At  its.  close  a  re 
porter  for  an  afternoon  paper  stepped  up  to  the  chief 
and  the  following  interview  ensued: 

"What  was  the  meeting  held  for,  chief?" 

"We  met  to  make  arrangements  about  the  labor 
parade." 

"Are  you  going  to  stop  it?" 

"No." 

"Do  you  anticipate  any  trouble?" 

"You  need  not  print  this, "  said  the  chief,  lowering 
his  voice,  "but  confidentially,  I  do  expect  a  disturb 
ance.  The  entire  force  will  be  massed  along  the  line 
of  parade  until  after  midnight.  We  are  reliably  in 
formed  that  there  will  be  a  large  number  of  anarchists 
in  line  prepared  to  make  trouble.  If  you  say  anything 
about  it  warn  the  people  to  keep  off  the  streets  and 
remain  at  home.  It  is  the  innocent  spectator  who  al 
ways  gets  hurt,  you  know." 

The  confidential  interview  with  the  chief  appeared 
in  the  extra  evening  editions  of  the  papers.  The  an 
archist  leaders  read  them  and  chuckled.  Chief  Sulli 
van  and  his  inspectors  read  them  and  smiled.  Timid 
people  stayed  at  home,  but  thousands  remained  down 
town  and  watched  the  great  demonstration  of  the  un 
employed. 

One  hundred  thousand  men  marched  in  parade  that 
evening  The  vast  army  of  the  idle  massed  on  and 
around  the  lake  front  and,  headed  by  a  detachment  of 
police, swept  through  the  city  It  was  a  strange  and  im 
pressive  demonstration.  Twenty  years  ago  it  would  have 
been  regarded  as  phenomenal,  but  in  those  later  years 
people  had  become  accustomed  to  such  manifestations, 
though  never  before  had  idle  labor  made  so  grand  and 
awful  a  showing.  No  bands  of  musicians  marched  in 
their  ranks;  no  banners  or  transparencies  fluttered 


THE   ANARCHIST   CONSPIRACY  21 

over  their  heads.  Pinned  over  the  breast  of  each  man 
was  a  large  paper  card,  on  which  was  printed  in  plain 
type  the  word 


IDLE. 


There  were  thousands  of  bricklayers, carpenters, stone 
masons,  plasterers  and  others  in  the  building  trades; 
iron  molders,  machinists,  printers  and  scores  of  other 
trades  and  occupations.  Eight  thousand  retail  clerks 
marched  in  a  solid  body.  Immediately  following  the 
police  were  over  100  idle  reporters,  who  were  cheered 
all  along  the  line.  It  was  interesting  to  listen  to  the 
comments  of  the  thousands  who  crowded  the  streets 
along  the  line  of  march.  Here  are  some  of  them: 

"I  would  like  to  see  myself  in  that  kind  of  a  crowd. •" 

"Bet  there  ain't  fifty  men  in  the  whole  lot  who  would 
work  if  they  got  a  job." 

"Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  bums  are  marching." 

"Guess  those  fellows  wish  they'd  saved  some  of  the 
money  they've  spent  for  beer." 

"There  ain't  that  many  honest  idle  men  in  the 
country." 

"That  fellow  there  looks  as  if  he  needed  a  bath  more 
than  he  does  a  job." 

It  was  7  o'clock  when  the  parade  started  and  it  was 
after  11  o'clock  before  the  shoemakers,  who  formed  the 
last  division,  paced  wearily  past  the  city  hall.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  approach  to  disorder.  No  one 
seemed  to  notice  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the 
police. 

It  was  clear  early  in  the  evening,  but  the  sky  became 
overcast  about  8  o'clock.  Great  masses  of  fleecy  clouds 
overhung  the  city,  and  in  the  west  an  occasional  flash 
of  lightning  betokened  an  approaching  storm.  The 
thousands  of  spectators  and  marchers  paid  little  heed 
to  the  warning  and  the  downtown  streets  were  yet 
crowded.  The  theaters  poured  additional  throngs  into 
the  multitude.  It  was  nearly  11:30  that  evening  when 


22  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

Sergt.  Morse  of  the  signal  service  bureau  left  his  office 
in  the  eighteenth  story  of  the  Auditorium  and  in  com 
pany  with  a  reporter  climbed  the  iron  stairs  and  landed 
on  the  top  of  the  great  tower.  Morse  was  busy  re 
cording  some  indications  registered  by  the  signal  ap 
paratus  when  the  watchful  reporter  uttered  an  excla 
mation. 

"Look  at  that!  What  in  thunder  do  you  suppose  that 
is?" 

To  the  north  a  stream  of  light  came  from  the  roof  of 
the  Masonic  Temple,  a  huge  pile  of  masonry  at  the  cor 
ner  of  State  and  Randolph  streets. 

"That's  the  searchlight  on  the  Masonic  Temple," 
said  Morse, regarding  it  intently  for  a  moment.  "What 
is  it  burning  at  this  time  of  the  night  for?  Look  at 
it  now." 

From  their  watch-tower  the  signal  officer  and  his 
companion  witnessed  a  peculiar  sight.  Nearly  800  feet 
below  them  lay  the  city  of  Chicago,  half  buried  in 
a  sea  of  steam  and  smoke,  from  out  whose  billows 
came  occasional  flashes  of  electric  and  gas  lamps.  To 
the  south  long  rows  of  lights  on  Michigan  boulevard 
gleamed  brightly  in  the  foreground  and  faded  away 
until  swallowed  up  in  smoke  and  fog.  In  the  western 
sky  masses  of  clouds  were  occasionally  illumined  by 
lightning  flashes,  while  low  scudding  clouds  heralded 
an  approaching  storm.  But  their  eyes  noted  none  of 
these  picturesque  features  of  the  scene  before  them. 

From  the  roof  of  the  Masonic  Temple,  wnich  lifted 
itself  above  all  surroundings,  a  powerful  flood  of  light 
swept  out  over  the  lake,  focused  at  first  on  the  north 
government  pier.  For  a  few  seconds  it  remained  sta- 
tionary,growing  in  volume.  The  fluttering  and  flickering 
incident  to  the  adjustment  of  the  carbons  ceased,  and 
under  the  manipulation  of  a  skilled  operator  the  great 
shaft  of  light  shot  across  the  lake  and  burned  a  disk  of 
pure  white  light  in  the  low-hung  clouds  in  the  eastern 
sky.  It  rose  rapidly  until  the  shaft  pointed  upward  at 
an  angle  of  45  degrees.  Against  a  bank  of  clouds  was 
a  white  disk  of  twice  the  apparent  size  of  the  sun. 


THE  ANARCHI8T  CONSPIRACY  23 

As  the  startled  watchers  gazed  over  the  lake  the  light 
vanished  for  an  instant,  and  when  it  reappeared  in  the 
center  of  the  white  disk  was  the  word 


"STRIKE" 

in  letters  of  red.  With  a  majestic  sweep  the  disk, 
with  its  red  and  portentous  inscription,  traversed  the 
southern  and  western  sky,  passed  to  the  north,  and 
then  slowly  increased  its  altitude  until  it  stood  station 
ary  in  the  heavens,  a  threatening,  malignant  midnight 
sun,  burning  almost  directly  overhead.  A  broad  sheet 
of  lightning  played  angrily  across  it.  Mingled  in  the 
thunder  which  followed,  came  the  unmistakable  rattle 
of  musketry  to  the  north.  In  the  west  the  red  glare 
of  a  fire  illumined  the  sky. 

"Hell!"  said  the  reporter,  "I  must  go  to  work," 

The  anarchists  had  struck,  and  with  frightful  results 
to  themselves.  Betrayed  by  their  associates,  they 
plunged  recklessly  into  a  trap  which  had  been  carefully 
laid,  and  from  which  there  was  no  escape.  The  scenes 
at  East  Chicago  avenue  were  repeated  at  seven  other 
police  stations.  At  the  signal  120  desperate  men  who 
had  been  massed  around  the  building  for  an  hour 
dashed  down  the  street  and  hurled  themselves  against 
Winchester  rifles  and  a  Gatling  gun.  One  dynamite 
bomb  was  exploded  by  a  daring  "red,"  whose  life  went 
out  with  the  crash  of  the  bomb,  which  caused  no  fur 
ther  loss  of  life  and  only  nominal  damage. 

Four  men  were  shot  down  while  attempting  to  blow 
up  the  waterworks  and  two  were  captured  while  trying 
to  destroy  the  city  hall. 

Three  hundred  rioters  were  killed  and  wounded  and 
over  a  hundred  arrested.  The  anarchists  were  success 
ful  in  starting  several  fires,  which  were  extinguished 
with  little  difficulty  and  small  loss.  In  spite  of  all  the 
preparations  of  the  police,  the  man  who  manipulated 
the  searchlight  made  good  his  escape.  As  the  anarch 
istic  electrician  adjusted  the  great  light  so  that  it 


24  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

pointed  high  in  the  western  sky,  two  officers  advanced 
toward  him.  Stepping  quickly  to  one  side,  ho  raised 
a  trap  door  and  disappeared,  the  door  closing  with  a 
snap.  He  was  never  captured.  The  dead  and  imprisoned 
anarchists  received  little  sympathy  from  the  thousands 
of  unemployed  trade  unionists.  A  small  defense  fund 
was  raised  and  expended  in  a  triai  which  resulted  in 
imprisonment  for  terms  ranging  from  three  to  twenty 
years  for  twenty-eight  of  the  rioters.  Such  was  the 
tame  and  unromantic  ending  of  what  was  the  Jast 
anarchist  conspiracy  in  the  United  States, 


CHAPTER  II. 

SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTS. 

How  carne  anarcny  on  American  soil?  What  inspired 
the  anarchist  consoiracy  of  May  28?  Where  and  when 
was  planted  the  seed  which  ripened  into  the  Hayrnarket 
riot  of  May  5,  1886?  Why  did  vast  armies  of  unem 
ployed  men  skilled  in  their  several  crafts  parade  the 
streets  of  New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis 
and  other  great  cities  in  the  fall  of  1893?  These  are 
pertinent  questions,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  historian 
to  answer  them  These  were  new  experiences  in 
America.  There  was  a  hint  of  industrial  revolt  in  1877, 
but  it  was  smothered  only  to  break  out  in  1886,  and  to 
assume  new  and  more  dangerous  forms  in  1893.  There 
was  something  majestic  and  pitiful  in  the  silent  protest 
sent  up  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  marching 
through  the  streets  of  cities,  past  granite  walls  whose 
impressive  fronts  guarded  the  wealth  their  now  idle 
hands  had  helped  to  create. 

It  was  a  new  thing  in  America — America,  whosa 
proudest  boast  it  was  that  upon  her  soil  was  work 
and  welcome  for  the  nations  of  the  world;  America, 
whosei  sovereigns  were  the  men  who  earned  their  bread 
by  work, and  whose  laws  were  framed  for  the  protection 
of  her  wage  earners.  For  the  first  time  in  history  the  ad 
mission  was  reluctantly  made  in  the  latter  part  of  1893 
that  there  was  no  work  for  willing  xhands,  idle  through 
no  fault  of  their  own.  A  most  remarkable  situation. 
Perhaps  a  study  of  the  past  may  afford  some  clew,  which, 
closely  followed,  shall  solve  the  mystery  of  American 
poverty  and  American  idleness. 

Away  back  in  1787  a  number  of  distinguished  gentle- 

25 


26  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

men  met  in  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  general  government.  The  several  colonies  had  just 
emerged  from  a  terrific  struggle  with  England,  and 
had  hardly  recovered  from  their  surprise  and  joy  at 
finding  themselves  the  victorious  and  undisputed  pos 
sessors  of  what  promised  to  be  the  greatest  country  on 
earth.  It  may  be  well  at  the  start  to  mention  that  the 
majority  of  the  gentlemen  present  at  this  momentous 
occasion  had  had  but  little  experience  in  founding  great 
countries.  The  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  with 
a  constituency  fewer  in  numbers  than  her  principal 
city  has  to-day,  was,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful  sov 
ereignty  with  which  they  were  closely  identified.  It 
is  hard  for  us  at  the  present  day  to  realize  the  con 
ditions  which  then  existed,  and  the  author  has  not  the 
slightest  desire  to  disparage  and  belittle  the  work  and 
efforts  of  the  estimable  gentlemen  who  convened  in 
Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  constitution 
which  would  last  all  time  and  should  read  to  future 
generations  as  an  inspiration. 

To  tell  the  plain  truth,  these  gentlemen  had  no  such 
idea  when  they  met  in  Philadelphia.  A  great  many 
of  them  did  not  know  what  they  had  come  together  for, 
and  when  Mr.  Randolph  and  others  told  them  they 
threatened  to  put  on  their  hats  and  go  home  and  allow 
Mr.  Randolph,  Mr.  Madison,  Mr.  Hamilton  and  their 
friends  to  ascertain  how  the  people  who  lived  in  1896 
should  be  governed.  They  were  finally  prevailed  upon 
to  remain  and,  as  a' consequence,  the  constitution  as 
adopted  was  probably  different  in  many  respects  from 
what  it  would  have  been  had  these  gentlemen  not  been 
placated.  It  was  a  strangely  composed  convention, 
a  mingling  of  broad  statesmanship  and  narrow  and 
bigoted  partisanship.  It  adopted  a  compromise  dic 
tated  by  the  representatives  of  the  weaker  states,  and 
by  the  aristocrats,  Hamilton  and  others,  who  feared 
the  people. 

The  constitution  as  adopted  was  fairly  well  fitted  for 
the  people  of  that  generation,  They  would  have  pros 
pered  under  any  form  of  government.  It  remained  for 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FAOT8  £7 

certain  of  the  people  of  1870-96  to  discover  that  the 
compromise  constitution  of  1787  was  the  final  embod 
iment  of  all  earthly  wisdom,  and  that  all  knowledge  of 
government  ended  with  the  death  of  the  men  who 
formed  it.  They  refused  to  open  their  eyes  to  the  pal 
pable  fact  that  the  constitution  of  1787  was,  in  many 
important  respects,  as  absolutely  unfitted  for  their 
government  as  if  it  had  been  written  to  regulate  the 
affairs  of  the  people  who  are  supposed  to  inhabit  Mars 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  primitive '.people  who  lived 
in  1787,  many  of  whom  yet  held  allegiance  to  Eng 
land  and  considered  the  revolution  a  crime,  were  un 
able  to  agree  upon  a  constitution  suitable  in  all  re 
spects  to  the  demand  of  the  people  of  1887.  The  re 
markable  historical  fact  is  that  the  constitution  as 
adopted  at  Philadelphia  survived  the  close  of  that 
century. 

When  the  original  thirteen  states  had  ratified  the 
constitution  and  it  stood  adopted  as  the  organic  law  of 
this  great  country  there  was  not  a  mile  of  railroad  in 
existence.  There  were  no  steamships,  no  telegraph 
lines,  no  adequate  means  of  communication  and  ex 
change.  Invention  was  in  its  swaddling  clothes.  There 
was  no  Chicago,  no  Cincinnati,  no  St.  Louis,  no  San 
Francisco,  no  St.  Paul.  The  greater  part  of  that  mag 
nificent  empire,  the  Mississippi  valley,  was  down  on 
the  maps  as  a  desert.  There  was  no  Standard  Oil  trust, 
no  Tammany, no  solid  south, no  bloody  chasm,  no  Van- 
derbilt,Astor,  Pullman, or  Carnegie.  Messrs.  [Randolph, 
Pickering,  and  their  associates,  not  being  gifted  with 
prophecy,  foresaw  none  of  these.  It  is  but  fair  to  as 
sume  that  if  they  had  there  would  have  been  mention 
of  them  and  certain  remedies  adopted  in  the  constitu 
tion  as  finally  drafted.  These  last-named  men  lived  and 
died  before  the  birth  of  modern  civilization. 

Measured  not  by  time,  but  by  achievements,  the  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  as  it  existed  in  1893  was 
an  antiquity,  the  cherished  heirloom  of  a  vanished  age; 
a  venerable,  doddering  old  document  whose  senile  sec- 


28  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

ond  childhood  was  taken  advantage  uf  by  those  whom 
wealth  and  influence  thrust  into  position. 

The  founders  of  the  constitution  did  not  attempt  to 
rear  a  government  which  would  survive  unaltered 
through  the  ages.  They  knew  better  than  to  attempt 
it.  When  they  had  finished  their  labels  and  adjourned 
to  their  homes  they  did  not  think  much  of  what  they 
had  accomplished.  Several  of  the  states  represented  in 
the  constitutional  convention  took  two  years'  time  for 
deliberation  before  adopting  the  constitution, and  came 
into  the  fold  then  only  because  they  were  forced  to  by 
circumstances  and  environments.  It  was  nearly  a  hun 
dred  years  before  the  discovery  was  made  that  the  con 
stitution  was  an  inspired  document,  a  summing  up  of 
all  earthly  wisdom  pertaining  to  government.  After 
amassing  $40,000,000  under  its  munificent  regime  and 
having  successfully  engineered  a  reduction  of  wages 
among  his  6,000  employes,  Andrew  Carnegie  made  the 
discovery  that  ours  was  the  greatest  government  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  He  embodied  his  ideas  in  a  book 
labeled  "Triumphant  Democracy"  and  inflicted  it  upon 
a  helpless  world. 

The  founders  of  the  constitution  evidently  had  a 
most  wholesome  fear  of  or  contempt  for  the  people. 
They  certainly  succeeded  in  so  molding  the  document 
that  the  majority  of  the  people  had  limited  legal  re 
dress  for  their  wrongs.  With  the  avowed  intention  of 
founding  a  government  of,  for  and  by  the  people,  they 
established  a  system  in  which  the  majority  of  the  peo 
ple  often  had  no  power  to  shape  or  direct  their  affairs. 
The  only  national  officers  the  people  were  permitted 
to  directly  vote  for  were  members  of  the  house  of 
representatives.  They  were  not  trusted  even  with  a 
direct  vote  for  president  or  vice-president,  but  were 
compelled  to  vote  for  electors.  As  a  result  several 
presidents  were  inaugurated  and  served  their  terms  who 
received  many  votes  less  than  their  defeated  oppon 
ents.  This  was  considered  " representative  govern 
ment."  The  house  of  representatives  was  not  trusted 
with  representing  or  deciding  anything.  A  senate 


SOME    HISTORICAL    FACTS  29 

founded  upon  and  copied  after  the  English  house  of 
lords,  was  elected  by  the  several  state  legislatures — 
two  senators  from  each  state,  regardless  of  its  size, 
population,  wealth  or  importance — and  delegated  with 
power  to  defeat  anything  which  might  emanate  from 
the  house. 

Even  this  precaution  was  not  enough  for  the  mon 
archists,  who  controlled  the  constitutional  convention. 
For  fear  the  voice  of  the  people  might  prevail  despite 
the  cumbersome  machinery  of  the  house  and  the  ever- 
threateningjhostility  of  the  senate, the  president  of  the 
United  States  was  clothed  with  the  power  to  veto  any 
bill  after  its  passage  through  both  bodies.  It  could  then 
prevail  only  after  receiving  a  two-thirds  vote  in  both 
houses.  So  that  the  president  could  more  easily  sway 
both  houses  he  was  empowered  to  appoint  100,000 
officeholders.  Federal  patronage  in  the  hands  of  the 
president  becarno  a  powerful  whip  and  was  used  un 
sparingly. 

It  would  seem  that  the  aristocratic  founders  of  the 
constitution  of  1787  had  removed  the  control  of  affairs 
so  far  from  the  people  as  to  render  their  meddlesome 
interference  impossible,  or  at  least  impracticable.  But 
no.  They  wanted  another  safeguard.  They  proposed 
to  take  no  chances.  It  was  just  barely  possible  that 
the  fool  people  might  pass  through  the  house  and  sen 
ate  and  over  the  president's  veto  a  Jaw  harmful  to  their 
own  best  interests.  The  all-wise  lawgivers  of  1787 
wished  to  make  sure  that  the  people  would  be  gov 
erned.  To  their  minds  a  government  that  did  not  over 
ride  the  people  apd  that  did  not  govern  them  was  not 
worth  having.  So  they  established  a  Supreme  Court. 
The  Supreme  Court  was  supposed  to  know  everything. 
After  the  people  had  set  their  hearts  on  the  passage  of 
some  measure  and  had  overcome  the  stumbling-blocks 
placed  in  their  way,  had  elected  a  huge  majority  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  also  of  the  Senate,  and 
passed  their  favorite  bill  over  the  head  of  an  unfriendly 
executive,  the  Supreme  Court  could  calmly  declare  the 
bill  as  passed  "unconstitutional,"  and  that  was  the 


30  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

end  of  it.  In  1894  this  was  termed  "representative 
government,"  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  people 
fondly  imagined  that  the  United  States  had  a  govern 
ment  "of  the  people,for  the  people  and  by  the  people." 

None  of  these  matters,  however,  seriously  affected 
those  who  lived  in  the  happy  days  from  1787  to  1830 
or  even  up  to  a  time  twenty  years  later.  Poverty  was 
unknown.  There  were  no  millionaires  and  the  pauper 
was  a  curiosity.  The  greatest  undeveloped  country  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  was  waiting  for  a  free  people  to 
take  possession  of  it.  There  were  no  foes  more  dan 
gerous  than  Indians.  Deadly  competition  had  not  yet 
fastened  its  grasp  upon  the  throat  of  industry.  Land 
was  free.  There  were  no  great  cities,  with  their  pent- 
up  populations  of  thousands  of  toilers  struggling  for  a 
chance  to  work.  Tired  of  the  town,  the  toiler  was  at 
liberty  to  leave  it  and  become  a  pioneer  and  the  found 
er  of  a  prosperous  community  in  the  seemingly  inex 
haustible  west.  Those  were  the  days  of  homely  lives 
and  republican  simplicity.  They  were  living  in  an  age 
which  has  now  forever  vanished  and  were  standing  on 
the  threshold  of  a  new  era — the  "mechanical  age." 
There  was  no  labor  question  in  those  days.  There 
was  work  enough  for  all  and  the  foreign  immigrant 
was  warmly  welcomed.  There  was  no  struggle  between 
man  and  man,  no  enmity  between  employer  and  work 
man,  no  banding  of  employers  and  no  unions  of  wage 
earners,  None  was  needed.  All  these  peaceful  condi 
tions  were  swept  away  with  the  advent  of  the  mechan 
ical  age. 

The  mechanical  age  had  its  birth  and  first  develop 
ment  in  the  years  between  1800  and  1840.  Its  influ 
ence  was  not  severely  felt  until  1850-60,  and  it  did  not 
attain  full  sweep  and  sway  until  1870.  From  that  time 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  everything  was  subordinated 
to  the  iron  rule  of  the  new  regime. 

The  dawn  of  the  present  century  found  Watt  work 
ing  on  the  steam  engine.  Two  years  later  gas  was  first 
used  for  illuminating  purposes.  America  had  begun 
to  raise  cotton,  and  in  1830  the  invention  of  the  spin- 


SOME   HI9TOEICAL   FACTS  31 

ning  mule  established  a  new  industry.  Fulton  built 
his  first  steamboat  in  1807,and  in  1819  the  first  steam 
ship  crossed  the  Atlantic.  America  built  her  first  mile 
of  railroad  in  1827,  and  telegraphing  became  possible 
in  1835.  An  industrial  revolution  was  brewing,  but 
the  people  did  not  notice  it,  and  the  constitution  did 
not  recognize  it.  Factories  reared  their  tall  chimneys 
on  every  side.  Bands  of  iron  and  steel  bound  the 
country  together.  The  boy  rested  on  the  plow  handle, 
watched  the  train  rush  by  toward  the  great  city,  and 
his  heart  was  filled  with  a  strange  longing  and  unrest. 
The  next  month  he  had  left  the  farm  forever.  The 
great  heart  of  the  west  was  penetrated.  Railroads  were 
projected  across  the  continent,  and  the  government 
donated  them  land  enough  to  found  empires.  While 
the  government  reserved  some  land, it  permitted  great 
corporations  to  grab  millions  of  acres  of  forest  and  rich 
prairie,  vast  tracts  filled  with  mines,  property  worth 
billions  of  dollars.  All  this  was  almost  unnoticed. 
There  was  plenty  left,  the  people  said.  Uncle  Sam  had 
a  farm  for  everybody.  This  was  in  1850. 

In  1898,  300,000  people  massed  around  the  Cherokee 
strip,  a  barren  tract  of  land  the  government  had  pur 
chased  from  the  Indians,  and  at  a  signal  made  a  wild 
scramble  for  a  home  in  the  treeless  wilderness.  Many 
were  killed.  While  these  unfortunate  people  were 
fighting  for  a  home  millions  of  acres  of  choice  farming 
land  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  were  in  the 
undisputed  possession  of  foreign  syndicates  and  cap 
italists  who  were  holding  them  for  speculative  purposes. 
For  over  seventy  years  the  people  lived  and  prospered 
under  the  constitution  adopted  by  our  forefathers  back 
in  1787.  The  country  was  so  great,  its  resources  so  in 
exhaustible,  and  the  opportunities  for  expansion  so 
limitless  that  questions  which  vexed  the  statesmen  of 
other  lands  never  presented  themselves  to  the  favored 
people  of  America.  It  would  have  waxed  powerful  un 
der  a  monarchy  and  its  people  would  have  grown  rich 
had  there  been  no  government.  The  first  severe  test 
came  in  1860. 


82  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

The  constitution  had  recognized  slavery, and  in  after 
years  the  people  almost  came  to  war  over  the  establish 
ment  of  a  line  which  should  divide  the  slave  labor  of 
the  south  from  the  wage  labor  of  the  north.  As  the 
manufacturers  of  the  north  proceeded  with  the  devel 
opment  of  machinery  the  south  learned  with  chagrin 
that  it  could  not  compete  in  open  market  even  though 
it  had  the  supposed  advantage  of  slave  labor.  It  was 
the  first  triumph  for  the  mechanical  age.  Jealousy 
turned  to  rage  when  the  political  leaders  of  the  south 
saw  its  national  candidates  defeated,  and  they  decided 
to  sever  all  connection  with  the  government  at  Wash 
ington,  found  a  confederacy  of  their  own,  and  they  un 
doubtedly  contemplated  levying  a  protective  tariff 
against  the  machine-made  products  of  the  north. 

South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Virginia  and  the  other 
southern  states  declared  in  their  state  conventions 
that  they  were  sovereign  states  having  full  power  to 
sever  at  will  all  connection  with  adjacent  common 
wealths.  In  support  of  the  justice  and  truth  of  their 
position  they  quoted  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  invoked  history  to  prove  that  they  entered 
the  union  as  sovereign  states  and  had  an  equal  right  to 
withdraw  as  such.  They  proved  by  the  constitution 
beyond  any  doubt  that  they  had  this  right,  and  there 
upon  seceded.  The  north  whipped  them  into  subjec 
tion  and  thereby  demonstrated  that  it  is  better  to  have 
common  sense  and  plenty  of  ammunition  than  to  be  a 
strict  constructionist  of  the  constitution  and  state 
patriot.  Bat  the  war' did  not  originate  in  any  cortro- 
versy  over  state  rights;  it  was  not  waged  by  the  north 
for  the  purpose  of  freeing  the  slaves;  it  was  an  inevi 
table  outgrowth  of  the  triumph  of  the  mechanical  age 
and  resulted  in  a  life  and  death  struggle  between  the 
slave  labor  of  the  south  and  the  wage  labor  of  the  north. 
That  the  latter  won  was  logical.  More  that  that, it  was 
just.  Any  other  result  would  have  been  an  irretrieva 
ble  disaster. 

No  man  who  reads  history  aright  can  make  any  de 
fense  for  the  position  assumed  by  the  south  in  that 


SOME   HISTORICAL  FACTS  33 

controversy.  Sovereign  states  1  They  may  have  been 
sovereign  200 years  before  they  seceded;  they  may  have 
preserved  some  of  that  sovereignty  up  to  the  time  they 
merged  their  fortunes  in  the  Union,  and  the  constitu 
tion  undoubtedly  affirmed  that  sovereignty,  but  in  the 
seventy  years  which  had  intervened  this  country  had 
become  a  nation  in  spite  of  a  constitution  framed  by 
men,  some  of  whom  cared  more  for  their  political  for 
tunes  as  officeholders  in  their  respective  states  than 
they  did  for  the  glorious  future  of  the  republic.  When 
it  came  right  down  to  business  the  people  of  the  north 
spent  precious  little  time  trying  to  find  out  exactly 
what  Mr.  Randolph  and  his  associate  constitution  man 
ufacturers  meant.  The  north  knew  that  this  was  the 
United  States — poor  grammar,  but  good  patriotism — 
and  they  proceeded  to  shoot  a  little  common  sense  into 
certain  politicians  who  attempted,  by  quoting  the  con 
stitution,  to  perpetuate  colonies,  petty  monarchies  and 
land  grants  founded  by  dead  and  almost  forgotten  Eu 
ropean  tyrants,  The  government  laid  the  constitution 
aside  while  this  was  being  done  and  got  along  very  well 
without  it.  It  was  a  splendid  time  to  revise  or  rewrite 
the  aged  document. 

The  progress  of  the  war  did  not  check  the  industrial 
and  mechanical  development  of  the  country.  On  the 
contrary,  it  stimulated  it.  A  few  years  previous  to  the 
war  of  the  rebellion  the  country  had  experienced  its 
first  panic.  There  was  a  period  of  "hard  times." 
Factories  shut  down,  workmen  were  thrown  out  of  em 
ployment,  banks  failed  and  a  period  of  depression  en 
sued.  The  wise  men  of  that  day  did  not  appear  to  know 
what  caused  this  phenDinenon.  Politicians  accused  each 
other  of  responsibility.  After  a  time  the  factories  re 
sumed  work,  business  revived,  and  the  experience  was 
almost  forgotten. 

Times  were  never  better  in  the  country  than  during 
the  four  years  of  the  war.  There  was  plenty  of  work. 
The  more  there  was  destroyed  the  better  the  times  be 
came.  Wages  increased.  The  government  issued  green 
backs  and  bonds,  the  former  passing  current  as  money, 


34  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

but  not  maintaining  parity  with  gold.  The  nation  was 
enabled,  however,  to  keep  up  a  vast  army  at  enormous 
expense,  and  those  who  remained  at  home  prospered  as 
never  before. 

The  war  undoubtedly  was  a  curse,  but  it  create'4  good 
times.  The  south  surrendered  aiid  the  war  was  ended. 
That  certainly  was  a  blessing.  A  million  of  the  nation's 
defenders  returned  to  peaceable  avocations.  No  longer 
would  the  men  who  remained  behind  be  compelled  to 
support  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  This  certainly  was 
a  matter  for  congratulation.  A  million  men  were 
added  to  the  working  force  of  the  nation  and  new  life 
was  to  be  infused  into  the  republic.  Surely  an  era  of 
happiness  and  prosperity  was  at  hand. 

Strange  to  relate,  nothing  of  the  kind  happened.  The 
advent  of  peace  was  followed  by  industrial  depression. 
The  men  who  had  been  making  guns  and  ammunition 
to  kill  other  men  and  destroy  property  were  thrown 
out  of  work.  A  million  men  entered  into  competition 
with  those  already  at  work  and  wages  fell,  A  stranga 
phenomenon!  The  prosperity  of  the  country  evidently 
did  not  depend  upon  the  perpetuity  of  peace,  either 
inside  or  outside  the  country.  The  manufacturers  had 
made  a  discovery.  War  was  just  the  thing  they  want 
ed.  Continued  peace  had  a  depressing  effect  on  busi 
ness.  So  they  scanned  the  papers  and  smiled  with  joy 
when  a  war  cloud  darkened  Europe.  Stocks  and  pro 
visions  rose  when  war  was  imminent  and  fell  when  the 
cables  announced  that  hostilities  had  been  averted. 

The  depression  following  the  war  was  short-lived.  It 
did  not  take  the  country  long  to  assimilate  the  ex-sol 
diers.  To  the  west  there  were  still  tracts  of  land  open 
for  settlement.  A  period  of  marvelous  activity  in  the 
invention  field  began  in  1867  and  continued  without 
serious  interruption  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Under 
such  a  stimulus  manufacturing  establishments  doubled 
their  capacity.  Old  models  were  discarded  and  im 
proved  devices  put  in  place.  By  means  of  automatic 
machinery  hundreds  of  men  were  displaced  for  a  time 
and  forced  to  find  other  employments.  The  producing 


SOME   HISTORICAL  FACTS  35 

power  of  labor  was  rapidly  increasing.  The  wages  of 
the  laborer  remained  stationary  or  fell.  The  price  of 
products  decreased.  In  every  department  of  industry 
the  inventor  was  at  work.  Farming  was  revolutionized 
by  tfc'e  creation  and  successful  operation  of  planting, 
mowing  and  harvesting  machinery.  In  10,000  factories 
whizzing  belts  and  pulleys  sang  a  song  of  triumph  for 
the  mechanical  age.  Poets  wrote  of  the  wonders  of 
machinery  and  foresaw  a  golden  time  when  through  its 
agency  man  should  live  without  work. 

There  was  a  crash  in  1873.  A  bank  failed  in  New 
York.  Securities  on  Wall  Street  tumbled  down  the 
scale.  Great  workshops  closed  their  doors  and  surprised 
workmen  came  the  next  morning,  but  walked  sadly 
home.  The  sheriff  nailed  notices  on  shop  doors  all  over 
the  United  States.  Money  depreciated  in  value  and 
gold  was  at  a  high  premium.  What  was  all  this  trouble 
about? 

Why,  it  was  a  panic.  Oh,  yes;  there  was  a  panic 
away  back  before  the  war  I  What  caused  it?  No  one 
seemed  to  know.  It  was  generally  supposed  to  be  some 
thing  like  cholera,  which  had  a  sort  of  license  to  sweep 
around  the  world  once  in  so  often.  Good  Christians 
explained  it  on  the  ground  that  the  Almighty  took  this 
method  of  punishing  the  nation  for  some  great  wrong, 
not  specified.  The  Democrats  said  it  was  caused  by  the 
Republicans,and  the  Republicans  avowed  it  was  caused 
by  a  fear  on  the  part  of  the  country  that  the  Democrats 
would  get  into  power  at  the  coming  election.  During 
all  this  time  business  was  at  a  standstill.  Property 
depreciated  and  fortunes  were  swept  away.  Mortgages 
were  foreclosed  by  unscrupulous  money-lenders.  Fam 
ilies  were  driven  from  their  homes, and  poverty  stalked 
throughout  the  nation. 

The  panic  of  1873,  in  common  with  all  other  com 
mercial  and  industrial  panics,  or  periods  of  depression, 
was  caused  by  the  overproduction  of  manufactured 
articles.  There  came  a  time  one  day  when  the  manu 
facturer  awoke  to  the  realization  of  the  fact  that  his 
warehouses  were  filled  with  goods  for  which  the  jobber 


36  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

and  retailer  had  made  DO  demand.  He  made  an  exam< 
ination  of  his  books  and  learned  that  the  retailer  had 
not  paid  for  the  last  bill  of  goods.  The  retailer  also 
had  a  store  full  of  goods  for  which  there  was  little  sale. 
The  word  went  out  that  this  condition  prevailed  all 
over  the  country.  Too  much  had  been  manufactured. 
The  factories  therefore  closed.  Banks  called  in  loans 
and  refused  to  extend  accommodations.  Over  a  million 
workingmen  found  their  wages  cut  off  entirely.  Others 
had  theirs  reduced  and  were  permitted  to  work  part  of 
the  time. 

All  this  happened  because  the  people  had  produced 
more  than  they  could  purchase  with  their  wages. 
Hence  the  panic;  hence  workmen  discharged  and  homes 
impoverished. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  people  declined  to  pat 
ronize  the  tradesman  and  consume  his  wares  for  the 
reason  that  they  had  already  purchased  sufficient  quan 
tities  of  such  articles  as  they  needed.  This  was  not  so. 
They  had  expended  all  or  nearly  all  their  wages  and 
were  still  in  need  of  the  various  things  which  the  re 
tailers  had  for  sale.  In  1878,  as  in  other  panics, 
the  people  needed  shoes,  but  could  not  buy  them.  They 
had  no  money.  The  shoe  manufacturers  had  buildings 
full  of  shoes,  but  could  not  sell  them.  The  discharged 
shoemakers  would  have  been  glad  to  make  shoes  for  the 
barefoot  multitude,  but  there  was  no  way  to  do  so.  So 
therefore  the  people  went  barefoot  or  stubbed  along 
with  their  old  shoes,  the  manufacturer  held  possession 
of  his  unsold  shoes  until  the  sheriff  closed  him  out,  and 
the  shoemaker  hired  out  as  a  farm  hand  or  became  a 
tramp  until  the  panic  was  over. 

This  is  not  an  overdrawn  picture.  It  happened  in 
this  country  in  1857,  in  1873,  in  1882,  in  1889,  and  in 
1893. 

The  situation  was  an  extremely  simple  one,  and  it  is 
difficult,  to  understand  why  the  people  were  at  a  loss  to 
ascertain  the  cause  of  panics  or  to  provide  a  remedy. 

Production  is  limited  by  consumption.  The  man 
ufacturers  of  the  United  States  aimed  to  produce  an 


Held  possession  until  the  sheriff  closed  him  out, 
37 


SOME    HISTORICAL    FACTS  39 

amount  equal  to  that  which  the  people  consumed.  To 
this  should  be  added  what  was  sold  abroad,  but,  stated 
broadly,  production  was  limited  by  what  the  people 
consumed.  Now,  the  great  mass  of  the  people  was  com 
posed  of  wageworkers  or  i'armers.  The  great  bulk  of 
manufactured  and  other  products  was  consumed  by  the 
workers  and  producers.  Their  capacity  to  consume  was 
limited  by  their  wages.  Hence  production  was  limited 
by  wages.  That  was  all  there  was  to  it,  and  that  sim 
ple  statement  contains  the  key  to  the  mystery  of 
panics. 

The  people  were  unable  to  purchase  with  their  w^ges 
that  which  their  labor  had  created.  They  could  not 
keep  up  with  the  machines  they  operated.  They  could 
come  nowhere  near  it.  Even  when  aided  by  the  extrav 
agance  of  the  rich  and  independent  they  could  not  keep 
pace  with  the  machines.  A  first-class  conflagration 
which  would  destroy  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  prod 
ucts  helped  matters  once  in  a  while,  but  a  new  machine 
would  more  than  offset  the  blessings  which  followed 
a  destructive  fire,  flood,  or  other  calamity.  So  in  the 
natural  course  of  events  a  surplus  or  overproduction 
would  be  created  and  a  panic  ensue. 

Now  that  we  have  reached  a  period  in  civilization 
when  such  a  thing  as  a  panic  or  financial  depression  is 
unheard  of  and  impossible,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
recall  how  the  paople  of  1860-96  survived  a  panic  and 
how  good  times  were  restored.  This  is  how  they  brought 
about  a  "revival  of  business": 

In  times  of  panic  or  depression  a  large  percentage  of 
the  factories  was  closed  and  others  operated  part  of 
the  time  with  decreased  forces  and  decreased  wages. 
The  problem  was  to  consume  the  already  manufactured 
product.  The  unemployed  were  not  in  good  shape  to 
accomplish  much  in  this  direction,  their  purchasing 
power  being  destroyed,  and  the  burden  of  absorbing 
this  surplus  fell  upon  the  rich.  Such  of  the  discharged 
and  discarded  workmen  as  had  saved  money  for  old  age 
or  a  rainy  day  spent  it.  When  their  scanty  hoards  were 
gone  those  who  had  homes  placed  mortgages  on  them 


40  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

at  high  rates  of  interest,  money  being  a  scarce  com 
modity  at  such  times,  and  usurers  and  pawnbrokers 
were  more  than  usually  exorbitant.  Others  of  the  un 
employed  were  forced  to  depend  on  charity.  The  largo 
cities  would  extend  and  enlarge  the  scope  of  charitable 
institutions,  and  enterprising  newspapers  did  good  work 
by  supervising  free-soup,  free-bread  and  old-clothes 
distributions.  A  great  many  of  the  unemployed  be 
came  thieves  and  tramps,  and  some  of  the  more  ener 
getic  embraced  train  robbery  as  a  profession  and  were 
quite  successful.  All  of  these  expedients  reduced  the 
surplus  and  hastened  the  advance  of  good  times.  The 
charitably  disposed  rich  acted  nobly  in  such  times. 
They  gave  freely  of  their  money,  and  kind-hearted 
ladies  engaged  in  the  work  of  relieving  the  distressed. 

Father  Time  also  did  good  work.  He  rotted  the  per 
ishable  articles  which  "good  times"  had  produced  in 
superabundance  and  laid  his  destroying  fingers  on 
costly  products  stored  away  in  the  warehouses  of  the 
manufacturers.  Dame  Fashion  also  came  to  the  rescue 
and  with  an  edict  destroyed  the  commercial  value  of 
clothes,  fabrics  and  wearing  apparel  which  deft  and 
dainty  fingers  had  created  and  for  which  no  purchaser 
came  in  time.  During  all  this  period  the  wealthy  and 
independent  classes  were  eating  away  at  the  surplus  and 
after  a  time  it  vanished.  All  hail  the  prowess  of  good 
old  Father  Time,  aided  by  Taxation,  Charity,  Patience, 
Dame  Fashion,  and  the  rotund  stomachs  of  those  who 
lived  without  workl  The  panic  was  past, the  depression 
was  over,  hard  times  were  gone,  good  times  were  at 
hand. 

The  people  who  lived  in  those  days  must  have  been 
singularly  lacking  in  an  appreciation  of  humor.  It 
was  a  side-splitting  farce,  a  wildly  hilarious  national 
comedy,  but  the  people  did  not  seem  to  enjoy  it  and 
took  it  seriously.  Some  of  them  got  mad  and  started 
riots  and  the  militia  had  to  shoot  them.  The  whole 
situation  growing  out  of  a  panic  was  full  of  comical 
complications,  which  were  utterly  lost  on  the  people. 


SOME    HISTORICAL    FACTS  4i 


They  had  become  so  rich  that  they  were  poor. 

They  had  invented  a  machine  which  sawed  and  split 
so  much  wood  that  they  had  to  freeze  in  winter  time. 

They  had  reduced  shoemaking  to  so  fine  a  science  and 
piled  up  so  many  boots  that  the  whole  nation  had  to  go 
barefooted. 

The  unhappy  day  had  come  when  there  was  no  work. 
Poets  had  dreamed  of  a  time  when  work  should  be  ban 
ished  from  earth.  Now  that  the  day  had  arrived  a  mil 
lion  men  fell  on  their  faces  and  worshiped  work  as  a 
god  and  begged  that  they  might  be  his  slaves.  Every- 
Vjdaere  the  cry  went  up  for  work. 

One  day  a  man  made  a  speech  to  a  crowd  of  unem 
ployed  and  half-starved  men  and  told  them  that  what 
they  needed  was  not  work,  but  something  to  eat.  .He 
advised  them  to  kill  off  the  rich  and  take  possession  of 
the  things  their  labor  had  created.  The  speaker  was 
not  very  logical  and  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  cause 
which  had  produced  the  distress  of  his  audience, but  he 
had  that  rude  eloquence  which  hunger  and  desperation 
inspires  and  his  speech  created  a  riot.  He  was  clubbed 
and  arrested.  The  next  day  some  of  the  papers  said  he 
was  an  anarchist.  Other  papers  said  he  was  a  socialist. 
Some  said  he  was  an  anarchist  and  a  socialist,  which 
was  as  consistent  as  it  would  be  to  accuse  a  man  of  be 
ing  an  infidel  and  a  Christian.  Anyhow  he  was  an 
enemy  to  society  and  had  dared  to  attack  the  spirit  of 
American  institutions.  More  than  that,  he  was  not 
born  in  this  country,  and  knew  nothing  about  liberty. 
If  he  didn't  "like  things  as  he  found  them  why  didn't 
he  go  back  whence  he  came?"  This  was  a  very  popular 
expression  and  was  supposed  to  contain  a  vast  deal  of 
wisdom.  Even  full-blood  Americans  who  could  trace 
their  ancestry  clear  back  to  the  time  their  forefathers 
burned  witches  in  Salem,  and  who  should  have  been 
running  over  with  the  spirit  of  American  institutions, 
made  themselves  extremely  unpopular  by  denouncing 
certain  things  they  did  not  like. 

As  a  result  of  all  this  it  came  to  be  understood  that 
Americanism  consisted  (1)  in  submitting  to  everything 


42  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

which  happened  with  sublime  resignation,  (2)  an  im 
plicit  trust  in  the  government  which  was  handed  down 
from  Washington  and  Jefferson,  and  (3)  a  childlike 
belief  that  everything  was  all  right  no  matter  how  un 
just  it  might  appear.  Any  other  mode  of  conduct  was 
stigmatized  as  being  un-American.  And  in  these  few 
years  following  the  panic  of  1878  the  people  were  actu 
ally  made  to  believe  that  ifc  was  un-American  to  protest 
against  vested  authority,  when  every  school  history  in 
the  land  proved  that  the  American  people  had  advanced 
as  a  nation  only  by  repeatedly  battering  down  the  laws 
which  some  one  had  made  to  govern  them;  by  indulg 
ing  in  revolutions;  by  instigating  rebellions;  ignoring 
when  necessary  the  constitution,  and  in  short  by  fight 
ing,  usurping  power,  arid  striking  right  and  left  at  any 
thing  and  everything  which  stood  in  the  way  of  their 
progress.  Up  to  1873  the  American  nation  was  a  nation 
of  fighters;  after  1873  any  man  who  talked  about  fight 
ing  for  his  rights  was  branded  as  un-American,  and 
there  was  always  a  suspicion  that  he  was  a  foreigner. 

Great  was  the  influence  of  the  machine.  Strange 
were  the  forces  which  governed  in  the  mechanical  age. 

The  panic  of  1873  was  followed  by  a  depression,  which 
lifted  toward  the  close  of  1877.  From  1877  to  1882 
there  was  a  period  of  activity,  finally  resulting  in  over 
production.  Hard  times  again  .ensued,  and  the  business 
and  manufacturing  depression  culminated  in  the  Hay- 
market  riot  in  Chicago  in  1886.  A  favorable  reaction 
occurred  in  1888  and  1889,  but  there  was  not  much  of 
a  boom.  New  forces  were  at  work.  There  was  almost 
a  panic  in  1889-90, but  it  resulted  in  nothing  more  seri 
ous  than  general  depression  all  over  the  country.  The 
skies  brightened  in  1891,  and  under  the  spur  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition  a  genuine  boom  set  in.  The 
bubble  burst  in  1893. 

Note  the  shortening  interval  between  panics.  Nearly 
a  score  of  years  elapsed  between  the  first  panic  and  its 
successor.  The  people  had  forgotten  there  ever  was  a 
panic.  Those  who  remembered  it  never  expected  an 
other  one.  The  third  panic  did  not  wait  so  many  years, 


SOME    HISTORICAL   FACTS  43 

and  shrewd  observers  had  expected  it  and  made  prepa 
rations   accordingly.      After    1886   the   forecasting   of 
panics  became  a  part    of   a   business  man's  education. 
The  intervals  between  became  so  short  that  periods  of 
depression  were  almost  continuous.     What  was  done  to 
check  this  awful  waste  of    wealth  and  demoralization 
of   industries?     Nothing.     What   statesman,   inspired 
by  the  perils  of  his  countrymen, arose  to  sound  a  warn 
ing  and  give  the  nation  a  remedy?     None.     What  was 
the  result?     The   birth    of   American   discontent;  the 
planting  on  American  soil  of  the  seeds  of  anarchy  and 
hatred;  the  fostering  of  a  growing  distrust  in  the  jus 
tice  of  American  laws;  a  hatred  of  the  rich, a  contempt 
for  legislators,  and  a  groping  in  the  dark.     Grotesque 
political  heresies  found  eager  followers,  but  elections 
were  held,  congresses  met  and  adjourned  without  pro 
ducing  a  statesman  or  a  patriotic  national  policy.     So 
the  country  drifted  on. 


CHAPTER  III. 


A   COUNTRY   WITHOUT   A    STATESMAN. 

FROM  1865  to  1896  the  United  States  did  not  produce 
a  statesman, 

It  did  not  produce  a  man  whose  broadness  of  intellect 
and  courage  in  execution  could  by  any  stretch  of  the 
imagination  be  construed  as  statesmanship.  From  1865 
to  1898  the  United  States  did  produce  a  crop  of  poli 
ticians  who  disgraced  and  well-nigh  ruined  the  fairest 
country  the  sun  ever  shone  upon. 

These  twenty-eight  years  produced  business  men, and 
the  best  business  men  this  world  has  ever  seen.  It  gave 
to  civilization  great  generals  of  production;  men  skilled 
in  the  science   of   manipulating    industries;  men   who 
could  look  into  the  future  and    surely  read  the  events 
of  the  coming  years  and  lay  their  plans  accordingly. 
It  produced  men  gifted  with  the  genius  of  organization 
and  vested  with    the   power   to   so  concentrate  human 
endeavor  as  to  achieve  the  highest  possible  commercial 
results,     These  men  handled  vast  armies  of  workmen, 
each  of  whom  became  a  part  in   a  perfect  working  ma 
chine.     For  politicians   and    the  counterfeit  statesmen 
of  the  day  they  had  nothing  but  contempt.   No  induce 
ment  was  strong  enough  to  tempt  them  to  accept  polit 
ical  positions.     They  declined  to   enter   Congress   and 
participate  in   its  sham    legislation.     Whenever   they 
desired  anything  at  the  hands    of   the  lawmakers  they 
paid  for  it  like  gentlemen,  and  made  the  proper  entries 
in  their  ledgers. 

The  age  of  conquest  proved  great  warriors;  the  age 
of  letters  gave  to  the  world  its  philosophers, and  the  age 
of  rqechanics.  crowned  as  king  the  business  man,. 

44 


A   COUNTRY   WITHOUT   A    STATESMAN  45 

With  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  statesman 
ship  became  a  lost  art,  and  business  established  a  code 
of  laws  for  itself  and  brought  the  country  to  its  feet. 
Competition  and  unlimited  and  unrestricted  produc 
tion  precipitated  the  panics  of  1873,  1884  and  1893. 
These  stupendous  object  lessons  were  lost  on  the  poli 
ticians.  They  were  a  mystery  to  the  common  people. 
They  were  plain  as  day  to  the  clear-headed  business 
man.  He  had  learned  that  with  free  competition  prof 
its  were  uncertain,  and  ultimate  business  failure  inev 
itable. 

Take  a  single  example;  a  shoe  manufacturer.  For 
twenty  years  he  had  been  adding  to  his  business  and 
tilling  his  factories  with  improved  machinery.  The 
panic  found  him  with  an  immense  stock  on  hand, which 
had  to  be  sacrificed  at.  a  loss.  This  must  not  occur 
again,  he  declared.  How  was  he  to  prevent  it?  There 
were  fifty  large  shoe  factories  in  the  country  which  he 
acknowledged  as  competitors.  Now,  our  friend,  the 
shoe  manufacturer,  knew  just  about  how  many  shoes 
the  people  of  the  United  States  used  in  a  year.  He 
had  reliable  trade  statistics  on  that  point.  He  knew 
how  many  he  could  make,  He  knew  how  many  his 
competitors  could  make.  But  he  did  not  know  how 
many  he  could  sell.  He  did  not  know  how  many  his 
forty-nine  competitors  would  sell.  He  did  not  know 
how  close  they  would  shave  prices  in  the  fierce  compe 
tition  which  prevailed.  He  was  therefore  powerless 
under  the  free  competition  to  protect  himself  against 
overproducing.  He  had  made  a  discovery;  competition 
was  not  the  life  of  trade;  it  was  the  death  of  profits. 
He  had  ascertained  that  as  long  as  manufacturers  were 
pitted  against  each  other  in  an  open  market  ultimate 
bankruptcy  was  certain  for  the  majority  of  them. 

Our  friend  then  proceeded  to  analyze  the  situation. 
There  was  no  reason  why  the  shoe  business  should  not 
pay  sure  and  steady  profits.  He  was  making  better 
shoes,more  shoes,and  selling  them  cheaper  than  twenty 
years  before,  but  at  less  profit.  His  competitors  were 
in  the  same  predicament.  They  were  reasonable  men, 


46  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

and  he  decided  to  confer  with  them.  An  idea  presented 
itself.  He  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  shoe  man 
ufacturers  of  the  United  States  and  suggested  the  call 
ing  of  a  convention  to  consider  mutual  interests.  The 
proposition  met  favor  and  was  adopted.  The  great 
manufacturers  met  and  talked  it  over.  As  a  result  of 
their  deliberations  it  was  decided: 

1.  That  unrestricted  competition  meant  loss  or 
bankruptcy. 

2  That  combination  was  a  good  substitute  for  com 
petition. 

3.  That  there  was  no  sense  in  manufacturing   more 
shoes  than  the  people  could  buy. 

4.  That  there  was  no  sense   in    selling  shoes  at  less 
than  cost  price. 

They  therefore  formed  a  trust.  Their  trust  included 
nearly  all  the  shoe  manufacturers  in  the  country.  They 
regulated  the  price  of  shoes  and  took  good  care  not  to 
make  more  than  the  public  demanded.  They  regulated 
\\ages.  When  the  demand  for  shoes  fell  off  they  shut 
down  some  factories  and  reduced  the  forces  in  others. 
The  trust  was  a  success.  Jt  was  a  distinct  advance  in 
civilization.  Several  states  passed  laws  against  trusts. 
They  had  no  more  right  to  interfere  with  the  affairs  of 
two  manufacturers  than  they  had  to  pass  a  law  forbid 
ding  two  milk  peddlers  to  consolidate  their  respective 
routes.  The  legislative  bull  had  no  effect  and  the  trust 
survived, 

Other  trades  followed  the  example  set  by  the  wise 
shoe  manufacturers.  In  a  few  instances  the  attempts 
failed  for  a  time,  but  in  1890  all  the  great  industries 
of  the  country  were  merged  into  trusts,  pools  and  as 
sociations.  Their  methods  of  procedure  varied.  Some 
industries  embraced  in  their  trust  all  of  those  engaged 
therein  at  the  time  of  its  formation.  Others  were 
formed  on  more  selfish  and  cruel  lines.  The  watch  trade 
was  an  example  of  the  latter.  The  Elgin  National 
Watch  Company  and  the  American  Watch  Company, 
of  Waltham,  consolidated  their  interests.  These  two 
concerns  had  about  $25,000,000  invested  in  machinery, 


A   COUNTRY   WITHOUT  A   STATESMAN  47 

and  together  practically  controlled  the  trade.  ID  three 
years  they  bankrupted  the  outside  small  competitors, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  and  then  absorbed  them. 

The  trust  was  the  logical  and  inevitable  outgrowth 
of  competition  in  the  mechanical  age.  It  was  made 
necessary  by  the  fact  that  the  output  of  the  machine 
exceeded  the  capacity  of  the  people  to  consume.  The 
trust  was  a  life  raft  for  manufacturers  and  producers. 
It  was  a  shield  against  an  all-destroying  competition. 

To  the  thinkers  and  to  the  student  of  political 
economy  the  evolution  of  the  trust  had  a  deep  signifi 
cance.  It  foreshadowed  the  downfall  of  the  system  of 
industry  and  production  which  gave  it  birth.  The  fact 
that  the  trust  was  necessary  proved  that  the  prevailing 
industrial  system  was  wrong.  Capital  had  abandoned 
competition  and  embraced  co-operation.  It  shrewdly 
urged  competition  among  the  wageworkers. 

The  trust  became  the  political  scapegoat  of  both  great 
political  parties.  Their  platforms,  their  orators  and 
organs  launched  argument  and  invective  against  the 
trust.  They  demanded  the  passage  of  laws  compelling 
the  disruption  of  all  such  associations.  This  was  done 
by  people  who  also  denounced  paternalism  in  gov 
ernment,  but  they  were  willing  that  the  strong  arm  of 
the  law  should  step  in  and  prevent  two  men  from  com 
bining  their  resources  for  the  purpose  of  cheapening 
production, systematizing  business  and  thereby  increas 
ing  their  profits.  Of  course  no  such  laws  could  be  en 
forced,  though  several  were  passed.  The  politicians 
knew  this;  so  did  the  orators,  the  press  and  the  mem 
bers  of  the  trusts.  But  the  people  took  up  the  harm 
less  cry  and  the  trusts  came  in  for  all  manner  of  abuse. 
It  did  not  hurt  the  trusts,  it  amused  the  people,  and  it 
furnished  them  with  an  excuse  for  being  out  of  work. 

Let  it  not  be  understood  that  the  clear-headed  and 
sagacious  business  men  who  founded  that  new  school 
of  commercial  economy,  the  trust,  were  actuated  by 
any  desire  to  serve  their  fellowmen.  Far  from  it. 
They  formed  trusts  because  they  had  to,  and  remained 
in  them  for  the  very  good  reason  that  they  would  per- 


48  PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH 

ish  on  the  outside.  They  were  interested  in  the  pub 
lic  only  from  the  fact  that  it  consumed  their  products, 
and  the  more  prosperous  the  public  the  more  the  prod 
ucts  consumed  and  profits  accrued.  They  kept  prices 
just  as  high  as  good  business  policy  dictated.  They 
paid  their  employes  the  lowest  wages  they  would  ac 
cept.  That  was  business.  That  was  what  the  society 
they  lived  in  gave  them  a  right  to  do,  and  they  would 
have  been  fools  to  have  pursued  any  other  policy.  They 
were  in  business  for  the  money  there  was  in  it,  and 
they  had  joined  in  a  trust  to  increase  their  profits. 
Whenever  the  stockholders  wanted  to  bestow  a  favor 
on  the  public  they  gave  it  in  the  form  of  charity,"  en 
dowed  a  hospital  or  founded  an  educational  institute. 

The  writer  does  not  desire  to  be  misunderstood  about 
trusts.  Trusts  were  not  great  moral  agents  of  reform, 
and  were  not  grounded  on  strict  justice.  But  the  trust 
was  inevitable  as  an  institution.  It  followed  the  dawn 
of  the  mechanical  age  just  so  surely  as  a  bud  opens  in 
the  morning  under  the  warming  influence  of  the  sun. 
The  trust  as  it  existed  in  1890  did  not  represent  the 
ideal;  it  was  not  the  final  limit  of  human  endeavor. 

But  the  trust  of  1890 — the  sordid,  grasping,  cruel 
and  scheming  trust — represented  a  distinct  advance  in 
civilization  and  in  commerce.  It  was  as  great  a  discov 
ery  in  commerce  as  that  made  by  the  old  farmer  in  trans 
portation,  who  learned  one  day  that  it  was  not  neces 
sary  to  load  one  side  of  his  mule  with  bricks  so  as  to 
counterbalance  the  weight  of  the  wheat  on  the  opposite 
side,  and  who  revolutionized  traffic  by  throwing  away 
the  bricks  and  loading  each  side  of  the  patient  mule  with 
equal  weights  of  wheat.  The  trust  took  a  part  of  the  load 
from  that  docile  mule, the  public, and  put  the  increased 
profits  from  this  innovation  in  its  pocket.  The  finan 
cial  interests  of  the  mule  were  not  involved.  He  had 
none. 

According  to  most  excellent  authority  there  were  in 
1893  not  less  than  200  fully  equipped,  well-organized 
and  capably  managed  trusts,  pools,  associations  and 
federations  and  combinations  of  interests  in  the  United 


A   COUNTRY   WITHOUT   A    STATESMAN  49 

States.  These  organizations  included  almost  every 
industry  in  which  machinery  played  a  part,  with  the 
exception  of  farm  products  before  they  left  the  hands 
of  the  producers.  .  After  the  farmer  sold  his  grain  or 
corn  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  railroad  pools, elevator 
associations,  milling  trusts,  produce  associations,  and 
from  them  to  the  more  or  less  unprotected  retailers, 
and  from  them  to  the  absolutely  unprotected  con 
sumers.  Coal,  iron,  copper,  steel,  oil  and  other  prod 
ucts  of  the  earth  had  their  production  limited  and 
their  prices  fixed  by  trusts. 

The  170,000  miles  of  railroad  were  merged  into  three 
or  four  pools  and  associations,  which  fixed  rates  and 
prohibited  competition.  In  order  to  make  this  more 
compulsory  congress  was  prevailed  upon  to  pass  an  in 
ter-state  commerce  law.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
name  any  important  industry  which  had  been  omitted. 

We  have  noted  the  generally  beneficial  effect  of  these 
combinations  to  the  men  financially  interested  in  them. 
What  was  the  economic  effect  upon  that  vast  con 
stituency — the  consumers — the  people  of  the  United 
States? 

The  power  to  regulate  production  carries  with  it  the 
power  to  say  how  many  men  shall  work  at  any  partic 
ular  industry,  when  they  shall  work  and — as  a  rule — 
what  they  shall  be  paid.  The  trusts  had  that  power. 
They  acquired  it  legitimately  under  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States.  They  had  not  trans 
gressed  those  laws  and  had  proceeded  under  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  constitution.  There  was  little  to  com 
plain  of  when  good  times  prevailed.  There  was  work 
enough  for  all  who  sought  it,  money  circulated  freely, 
and  both  manufacturers  and  employers  prospered.  But 
tho  time  came  when  the  demand  for  goods  diminished. 
The  trust  thereupon  exercised  its  undoubted  right  to 
manage  its  own  property  and  accordingly  discharged 
some  of  its  workmen.  The  purchasing  power  of  these 
dismissed  workmen  was  curtailed  and  the  depression 
of  the  community  became  more  ''"^ tense.  It  was  no  lon 
ger  profitable  to  manufacture,  and  over  the  doors  of  its 
workshops  the  trust  placed  the  sign: 


50  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 


CLOSED. 


Why  not?  It  was  their  property.  It  was  not  their 
fault  that  business  was  dull.  They  were  not  to  blame 
because  retailers  were  unable  to  sell  stocks  on  hand, 
much  less  place  orders  for  new  goods.  They  were  un 
der  no  obligations  to  furnish  work  for  men.  They 
were  business  men,  conducting  business  institutions 
on  a  business  basis,  and  were  paying  taxes  to  a  state 
whose  duty  it  was  to  dispense  charity,  if  any  charity 
could  reasonably  be  demanded. 

But  the  people  did  not  understand  this.  They  wanted 
work  and  when  it  was  refused  them  denounced  the 
monopolies  for  not  opening  their  workshops  and  man 
ufacturing  a  lot  of  stuff  that  the  people  could  not  buy 
for  the  simple  reason  that  they  did  not  have  the  money. 
In  this  foolish  position  they  were  encouraged  by  cer 
tain  foolish  writers,  and  their  passions  were  inflamed 
by  blatant  and  ignorant  demagogues  whose  entire  stock 
of  political  economy  consisted  of  a  strong  pull  in 
some  ward.  Other  causes  as  innocent  as  the  "trusts 
and  monopolies"  were  alleged.  Foreigners  were  de 
nounced  and  the  government  petitioned  to  check  or 
prohibit  immigration  regardless  of  the  character  of  the 
applicants  for  citizenship  in  the  glorious  free  republic 
of  the  United  States.  Others  declared  that  the  protect 
ive  tariff  was  to  blame  and  were  ridiculed  by  their 
opponents,  who  announced  that  the  protected  manufac 
turers  were  afraid  to  go  ahead  on  account  of  the  fright 
ful  specter  of  free  trade.  The  truth  was  so  apparent 
that  it  would  seem  the  worst  fool  could  have  discov 
ered  it — factories  were  closed  because  more  than  suffi 
cient  products  had  already  been  created.  The  forces 
of  production  were  greater  than  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  consumers.  The  workman  could  not  buy  back 
with  his  wages  the  product  created  by  the  machine  he 
manipulated. 

From  1865  to  1894  the  United  States  did  not  pro 
duce  a  statesman. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GROPING   IN   THE   DARK. 

IN  a  study  of  the  political  and  economical  literature 
of  the  period  between  1870  and  1896  the  attention  of 
the  historian  is  attracted  by  the  widespread  belief  in 
conspiracies  which  existed  at  that  time  among  many 
classes  of  people.  Political  parties  charged  their  op 
ponents  with  being  conspirators  against  the  prosperity 
of  the  republic.  It  would  bo  equally  reasonable  to 
accuse  a  man  of  conspiring  to  depreciate  the  value  or 
cause  the  ruin  of  his  personal  property.  The  poor 
charged  their  conditions  to  a  conspiracy  among  the 
rich,  to  whom  they  attributed  a  desire  to  hold  the  great 
masses  in  subjection  through  poverty. 

There  were  no  such  conspiracies.  No  political  party 
sought  the  ruination  of  the  country.  The  rich  did  not 
desire  the  impoverishment  of  the  masses;  on  the  con 
trary,  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  rich  depended 
absolutely  on  the  betterment  of  the  conditions  of  the 
common  people, 

Of  all  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  business 
men  alone  had  accommodated  themselves  to  the  re 
quirements  of  the  mechanical  age.  They  occupied  van 
tage  ground  because  they  had  pre-empted  it.  The  me 
chanical  age,  wrapped  in  its  swaddling  clothes  from 
1800  to  1840,  grew  in  strength  with  the  years  and 
reached  manhood  before  1870.  The  mechanical  age 
had  nothing  in  common  with  the  period  which  gave  it 
birth.  It  was  governed  by  no  ancient  laws  and  con 
trolled  by  no  musty  precedents.  The  sun  wjiich  shone 
on  Philadelphia  in  1787  illumined  a  new  civilization  in 
1887— a  civilization  further  removed  from  that  of  the 

51 


52  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

preceding  century  than  1787  was  from  the  age  which 
witnessed  the  birth  of  Christ.  In  that  short  century 
the  world  had  lived  thousands  of  years,  measured  by 
the  chronology  of  progress. 

What  had  kept  pace  with  that  progress?  The  busi 
ness  and  commercial  interests,  and  they  alone.  States 
manship  groped  in  the  darkness  of  the  past;  labor, 
shackled  in  the  bonds  of  wage  slavery,  was  chained  to 
the  chariot  wheels.  Justice  fumbled  over  the  musty 
tomas  handed  down  from  the  decayed  and  detested 
kings,  and  attempted  to  settle  disputes  among  civilized 
men  by  quoting  precedents  which  originated  with  sav 
ages. 

A  law  handed  down  by  a  judge  who  never  dreamed 
of  a  locomotive  engine,  and  who  lived  in  a  day  when 
the  murder  of  human  beings  was  regarded  as  the  only 
scientific  profession,  was  quoted  as  a  precedent  to  set 
tle  a  controversy  arising  between  an  elevated  railroad 
and  an  electric  light  company.  That  evening  a  ma 
chinist  addressed  a  company  of  distinguished  guests  at 
a  legal  banquet  to  which  he  was  invited  as  a  curiosity. 
He  uttered  an  aphorism: 

"The  path  of  progress  is  strewn  with  broken  prece 
dents."  The  grand  truth  contained  in  that  short  line 
was  appreciated  by  a  few,  but  lost  on  the  crowd.  The 
next  day  a  judge  issued  an  injunction  stopping  work  on 
an  enterprise  which  affected  the  wealth  and  comfort  of 
700,000  people,in  a  decision  based  on  something  which 
occurred  during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

The  people  who  lived  and  died  amid  such  grotesque 
social,  judicial  and  political  surroundings  accepted  the 
situation  with  remarkable  complacency.  They  were 
strongly  imbued  with  a  belief  which  was  generally  ex 
pressed  in  these  words:  "What  always  has  been  al 
ways  will  be. "  Just  who  was  the  author  of  this  re 
markable  statement  will  probably  remain  a  mystery, 
but  it  contains  as  much  untruth  and  stupidity  as  can 
be  expressed  concisely.  It  was,  however,  a  great  com 
fort  to  many  ignorant  people.  It  reconciled  them  to 
their  poverty,  their  oppression  and  their  wrongs.  They 


GROPING  IN   THE   DARK  55 

imagined  that  poverty  was  something  absolutely  neces 
sary,  that  a  certain  percentage  were  ever  doomed  to  be 
poor,  that  in  some  way  or  another  poverty  was  a  bless 
ing. 

There  were  other  popular  beliefs  which  were  of  great 
comfort  to  the  people.  With  few  exceptions  every 
young  person  firmly  expected  and  resolved  to  become 
immensely  wealthy  some  day.  A  most  commendable 
ambition,  but  difficult  of  realization.  This  thought 
was  instilled  into  his  very  being  in  the  public  schools 
and  became  a  part  of  his  education.  It  generally  took 
from  three  to  ten  years'  steady,  monotonous  work  as 
clerk  in  a  great  dry-goods  house,  or  half  a  lifetime  de 
voted  to  cutting  threads  on  bolts  in  some  big  machine 
shop  to  disillusionize  the  victim 

How  often  the  story  was  told  of  how  John  Jacob 
Astor  started  in  life  as  a  muskrat  trapper  and  by  strict 
application  to  business  became  a  merchant  prince;  how 
Commodore  Vanderbilt  started  with  a  ferry-boat  and 
eventually  built  and  owned  the  New  York  Central  Rail 
road;  how  Jay  Gould  peddled  maps  in  New  Jersey  and 
in  later  life  was  able  to  wreck  a  railroad  company  every 
year;  how  Phil  Armour  walked  into  Chicago,  grew  up 
with  that  great  city,  and  accumulated  untold  millions! 

These  glowing  examples  were  held  up  before  the 
young,  and  they  were  taught  that  by  industry,  perse 
verance  and  honesty  any  one  could  do  likewise.  But  the 
boy  who  graduated  in  1894  found  all  the  muskrats 
killed  off,  and  they  were  not  in  style  anyhow;  there 
was  a  surplus  of  railroads,  and  those  in  operation  were 
going  into  the  hands  of  receivers;  there  was  strong 
competition  in  the  Jay  Gould  school  of  financiering, 
and  as  near  as  he  could  learn  there  were  no  new  Chi- 
cagos  sprung  up  in  the  west.  There  was  no  new  west. 
It  had  been  absorbed  before  he  was  born.  He  did  not 
know  it,  but  the  fact  was  he  had  started  in  fully  fifty 
years  too  late.  Messrs.  Astor,  Vanderbilt,Gould,  Armour, 
and  other  highly  successful  multimillionaires  began 
their  activity  with  the  birth  of  the  mechanical  age,and 
some  of  them  became  rich  from  the  simple  fact  that  it 
was  impossible  for  them  to  remain  poor. 


56  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

The  schoolboy  eventually  discovered  these  facts  with 
some  surprise  and  resentment,  and  was  glad  to  accept 
a  $60-a-rnonth  job  as  a  Columbian  guard  at  the  World's 
Fair  as  a  compromise.  He  never  fully  forgave  the  sim 
ple-minded  school-teacher  who  deceived  him. 

A  great  many  people  took  intense  satisfaction  from 
the  general  belief  that  most  wealthy  people  sooner  or 
later  lost  their  fortunes.  The  man  who  carried  a  hod 
for  a  living  would  pick  up  his  weekly  paper  and  read 
with  great  glee  that  Henry  Villard,  the  great  railroad 
king,  had  had  his  fortune  swept  away  on  Wall  Street, 
or  that  some  speculator  had  lost  a  million  dollars  on 
the  board  of  trade,  by  a  sudden  drop  in  wheat.  That 
was  great  news  for  the  honest  hod-carrier.  He  imag 
ined  that  in  some  way  it  helped  the  country  and  indi 
rectly  would  benefit  him.  He  was  unable  to  see  that 
the  success  or  failure  of  any  stock  manipulator  or 
gambler  in  no  way  concerned  him  or  his  pocketbook. 
It  was  not  often  that  great  millionaires  lost  their  for 
tunes.  If  they  did  it  would  be  to  other  and  greater 
millionaires  and  not  to  the  honest  hod-carrier  or  his 
friend  the  bricklayer  or  carpenter.  But  the  thought 
was  a  consoling  one  and  he  was  happy  in  it. 

The  people  took  a  deep  interest  in  what  they  called 
"politics."  Their  "politics"  consisted  in  belonging  to 
either  the  Republican  or  Democratic  party.  Those 
who  belonged  to  the  Republican  party  proved  their 
fealty  by  cursing  the  Democrats  when  the  latter  were 
in  power,  and  by  proving,  or  attempting  to  prove,  that 
all  the  wrongs  under  which  the  country  suffered  were 
directly  traceable  to  the  legislation,  or  lack  of  legisla 
tion,  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  Democrats  would 
stoutly  deny  this  and  "point  with  pride"  to  the  fact 
that  the  country  was  in  as  bad  or  worse  shape  under 
the  Republican  rule.  An  election  would  be  held  and 
the  Democrats  defeated.  They  would  then  assume  the 
offensive  and  rail  against  the  Republicans.  The  "outs" 
generally  had  all  the  best  of  the  argument, for  the  rea 
son  that  the  country  was  usually  experiencing  a  panic, 
had  just  recovered  from  one,  or  was  anticipating  one. 


GROPING  IN   THE   DARK  57 

Each  party  had  one  thing  which  it  always  bragged 
about.  The  Republicans  declared  that  they  saved  the 
Union  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  and  boasted  about  it. 
The  Democrats  denied  this  and  proved  that  they  helped, 
and  then  proudly  declared  that  Thomas  Jefferson,  who 
wrote  the  declaration  of  independence,  was  a  Democrat, 
and  so  was  Andrew  Jackson.  This  the  Republicans 
admitted,  but  declared  that  both  Jefferson  and  Jack 
son  would  have  been  Republicans  if  then  living.  This 
constituted  a  high  form  of  political  debate. 

In  membership  the  two  parties  were  about  equal. 
There  was  generally  a  third  party — at  different  times 
a  Green  back,  Prohibition,  and  in  1892  a  Populist  party 
— the  latter  being  the  only  one  making  any  decided 
showing  at  the  polls.  Both  of  the  two  great  parties, 
as  they  were  called,  were  made  up  of  strange  and  seem 
ingly  incongruous  parts.  Their  respective  memberships 
may  be  thus  analyzed: 

The  Republican  party  was  made  up  as  follows,in  the 
order  of  influence  and  numerical  importance: 

1.  Manufacturers -who  looked    to    the    Republican 
party  to  levy  and  perpetuate   a  protective  tariff.     In 
consideration  of  this   the  manufacturers  paid  a  large 
share  of  the  campaign  expenses. 

2.  Ex-soldiers  of  the  war  of   the  rebellion,  who  be 
lieved  that  this  Republican  party  saved  the  Union  and 
who  were  in  favor  of  a  liberal  pension  policy. 

3.  Those   who  believed  that  the  Republican  party 
comprised  the  "better  class"  and  who   imagined  that 
they  belonged  to  that  class. 

4.  Those  who  imagined,  for  some  unknown  reason, 
that  the  Republican  party  was  opposed  to  foreigners 
and  intended  to  prohibit  immigration.   This  was  a  com 
mon  belief,  though  there  is  no  case  on  record  where  a 
Republican     convention,    politician    or   prominent  or 
ator  ever  dared  say  a  word  against  foreign-born  citizens 
or  in  favor  of   prohibiting    immigration.     They  some 
times  hinted  at  restricting  it. 

5.  Those   who   imagined  that  the  pope  had  designs 
on  the  United  States  and  who  believed  that  there  were 


58  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

more  Catholics  in  the  Democratic  party  than  in  the  Re 
publican. 

6.  The  vast  majority  of  the  negro  vote. 

7.  Young  men  whose  fathers  voted  the  Republican 
ticket. 

8.  Republican  officers,  their   relatives  and  personal 
friends. 

9.  About  40  per  cent  of  the   men   working  in  pro 
tected  trades.     This  was  strange  but  true.      The  party 
leaders  assured  the  workmen  that  the  tariff  was  levied 
for  their  protection,  but  few  of  them  seemed  to  believe 
it  and  the  majority  generally  voted  against  protection. 

10.  A  scattering  of  free  traders  and  others  of  vary 
ing  beliefs  and  theories. 

The  Democratic  party  was  made  up  as  follows, in  the 
order  of  influence  and  numerical  importance : 

1.  The  solid  vote  of  the  southern  states;  several  mil 
lions  of  men  who   had   always   voted   the    Democratic 
ticket  and  who  swore  they  always  would;   mad  on  ac 
count  of  being  whipped  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  and 
more  or  less  jealous  of  the   commercial  supremacy  of 
the  north;  a  highly  prejudiced  and  often  unreasonable 
lot  of  gentlemen  who   declined  to   allow  the   negro  to 
vote  in  the  southern  states. 

2.  The  "machine"  in  the  larger  cities,  composed  of 
the  tough  element,  backed  by  the  almost  solid  saloon 
interest,  a  id  prepared   to  go  to  any  length  in  order  to 
carry   an   election,  regardless,  when  necessary,  of  law 
or  decency.     A  tremendous  factor   and  one   which  de 
termined  many  important  elections.     The  Republicans 
attempted  to  enlist  the  same  element,  but  were  mainly 
unsuccessful. 

3.  Sixty  per  cent  of  the  men  working  in    protected 
trades  and  a  large  majority  of  city  workmen  employed 
in  unprotected  trades. 

4.  Free  traders  and  tariff  reformers. 

5.  Young  men  whose  fathers  voted  the  Democratic 
ticket 

6.  Democratic  officeholders,  their  relatives  and  per 
sonal  friends, 


GROPING   IN   THE   DARK  59 

7.  Mugwumps  and  others  who  were  disgusted  with 
the  failure   of   the   Republican   party  to    accomplish 
promised  reforms. 

8.  Protection  Democrats. 

What  the  latter  were  in  the  party  for  no  one  seemed 
to  know.  The  foreign  vote — so-called — was  about 
equally  divided  between  the  two  parties.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  foreign-born  population  settled  in  the 
northern  states,  which  usually  went  Republican.  Car 
roll  D.Wright  of  the  United  States  census  bureau  pre 
pared  statistics  which  showed  an  almost  equal  political 
division  of  this  much-sought-after  vote.  The  bulk  of 
the  Irish,  Poles  and  Bohemians  were  Democratic  and 
the  majority  of  the  Germans,  Scandinavians  and  Itali 
ans  voted  Republican.  So  far  as  religions  were  con 
cerned,  the  majority  of  Catholics  were  Democratic  and 
the  majority  of  the  Protestants  in  the  north  were  Re 
publican.  Many  distinguished  Protestants  were  Dem 
ocratic  and  many  eminent  and  influential  Catholics 
were  ardent  Republicans.  Religion  cut  no  figure  except 
in  the  minds  of  a  few  bigots  on  both  sides. 

It  may  be  asked  how  two  parties  thus  composed  could 
unite  their  partisans  on  any  issue.  The  answer  is  plain 
— they  could  not.  What  was  more,  they  did  not  at 
tempt  to.  There  were  no  issues.  From  the  time  of  the 
close  of  the  war  up  to  1896  there  was  not  a  clearly  de 
fined  national  issue  on  which  these  two  parties  took 
sides.  There  were  no  statesmen  to  formulate  issues. 
The  people  did  not  know  what  they  wanted  and  the 
politicians  did  not  care.  The  elections  were  waged  for 
the  prize  of  federal  patronage  and  for  that  alone. 

There  was  a  pretended  issue  of  protection  and  free 
trade,  but  it  was  a  sham.  There  were  ardent  protection 
ists  and  equally  ardent  and  honest  free  traders, but  the 
politicians  were  indifferent  to  either  theory.  They 
wanted  the  offices  and  the  patronage.  As  the  struggle 
for  work  become  more  intense  this  kind  of  partisanship 
increased  in  bitterness.  Once  in  power, an  officeholder 
would  turn  his  back  squarely  against  the  platform  on 
which  he  was  elected  and  devote  his  entire  time  to 


60  PRESIDENT   JOHN 

making  as  much  money  as  he  could  out  of  his  position. 

Too  ignorant  to  even  attempt  the  role  of  a  statesman, 
the  officeholder  would  play  the  demagogue  when  an- 
/  other  election  day  came  around.  He  would  talk  about 
the  old  flag,  how  he  loved  it  and  would  defend  it 
against  all  its  foes.  The  mere  fact  that  the  flag  had 
no  foes  weighed  nothing  with  the  demagogue.  A  visit 
to  all  the  saloons  in  hie  district,  a  little  money  left 
with  influential  barkeepers  here  and  there,  a  subscrip 
tion  to  the  campaign  fund  and  a  final  ''rounding  up" 
<  of  the  floating  vote  were  details  which  all  ideal  candi 
dates  religiously  attended  to.  The  opposition  candi 
date  pursued  a  similar  policy,  and  election  day  the 
voters  exercised  that  grand  prerogative  of  American 
citizens — the  franchise — and  elected  one  of  the  two  to 
represent  them  for  a  term  of  years.  The  victors  duly 
celebrated  their  triumph,  and  the  vanquished  calmly 
awaited  the  day  when  the  successful  candidate's  official 
record  became  so  odious  as  to  render  his  re-election 
impossible.  That  day  always  came. 

It  is  certainly  doubtful  if  the  average  intelligence  of 
the  men  elected  to  office  under  the  political  system  which 
prevailed  in  these  years,  equaled  that  of  the  constitu 
ents  they  were  supposed  to  serve.  Great  cities  like  New 
York,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  were  represented  in  their 
common  councils,  and  even  in  Congress,  by  men  who 
could  not  pass  a  grammar  school  examination;  men 
who  could  not  converse  intelligently  and  properly  in 
the  English  language;  men  who  were  at  home  only  in 
the  slums  from  which  they  sprung.  The  people  knew 
this  and  deplored  it,  but  they  were  powerless.  They 
had  no  voice  in  the  management  of  the  political  ma 
chines,  and  were  called  on  only  to  ratify  one  of  the  two 
seta  of  machine-made  candidates. 

Such  was  the  much  vaunted  "representative  form  of 
government"  as  it  existed  in  the  United  States  in  the 
later  years  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SOME  SOCIAL   PHENOMENA. 

THIS  history  has  slighted  a  movement  which  came 
into  existence  after  the  panic  of  1873  had  strewn  the 
country  with  financial  wrecks,  and  revolutionized  the 
business  interests  of  the  nation.  The  trade  union 
movement  is  the  one  referred  to. 

It  is  true  that  there  were  trade  unions  and  labor  or 
ganizations  at  an  earlier  date,  but  they  played  no  im 
portant  part  in  the  history  of  the  mechanical  age  until 
1873.  A  previous  statement  to  the  effect  that  the  busi 
ness  man  was  the  only  one  to  recognize  that  the  me 
chanical  age  had  made  free  competition  impossible  was 
perhaps  too  sweeping  in  its  assertion.  With  the  forma 
tion  of  trusts  and  the  incidental  curtailment  and  regu 
lation  of  production  a  true  vision  of  the  situation 
dawned  on  some  of  the  workingmen.  They  realized 
that  it  was  to  be  a  survival  of  those  who  took  advan 
tage  of  the  weapons  at  hand.  The  business  interests  had 
taken  possession  of  the  high  ground  and  fortified  their 
position.  The  trusts  proposed  to  furnish  all  the  prod 
ucts  the  people  could  purchase.  The  workingmen  de 
cided  to  form  themselves  into  trade  unions  and 
monopolize  all  the  work.  They  also  expected  to  regu 
late  their  wages  and  be  in  a  position  to  dictate  or  to  at 
least  arrange  terms  with  their  employers. 

There  were  many  brainy  men  at  the  heads  of  these 
organizations,  and  as  years  gave  them  experience 
they  developed  marked  qualities  of  leadership.  They 
acquired  a  full  and  clear  understanding  of  the  situa 
tion,  but  insurmountable  obstacles  impeded  their  prog 
ress.  It  was  one  thing  to  mass  a  score  or  100  factories 

61 


62  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

into  a  compact  pool  or  trust,  but  a  far  more  difficult 
problem  to  organize  100,000  workmen,  speaking  several 
languages,  into  a  union  with  a  discipline  equal  to  the 
emergencies  thrust  upon  it.  But  these  men  persevered 
and  accomplished  wonders.  They  were  confronted  at 
the  start  with  the  united  hostility  of  the  press  and  the 
general  public.  The  trusts  had  not  escaped  mild  de 
nunciation,  but  were  in  a  position  to  ignore  it. 

Not  so  with  trade  unions.  Workmen  were  taught 
to  believe  that  trade  unions  were  conspiracies  against 
and  inimical  to  the  traditions  of  America.  The  work 
man  was  told  that  he  forfeited  his  "individuality'1 
and  his  liberty  when  he  joined  a  union.  The  leaders 
were  assailed  in  unsparing  terms,  but  in  spite  of  all 
this  the  trade  union  movement  went  on. 

The  earlier  history  is  a  tale  of  protracted  and  bloody 
strikes.  The  first  great  outbreak  was  in  1877,  which 
culminated  in  the  Pittsburg  riots  and  a  complete  sus 
pension  of  business  all  over  the  United  States.  This 
incident  was  a  set-back  for  the  movement,  but  it  re 
covered  and  continued  with  alternate  victories  and 
defeats.  The  trusts  pursued  different  policies  toward 
the  unions.  Some  of  them,  including  the  great  iron 
and  steel  manufacturers  and  the  glass  factories,  made 
contracts  with  the  unions  for  a  term  of  years,  fixing 
a  scale  of  wages  at  such  a  rate  as  the  condition  of  the 
business  seemed  to  warrant,  Other  trusts  declined  to 
recognize  the  unions  or  to  hold  any  conferences  with 
their  representatives.  Such  action  always  resulted  in 
a  strike,  with  the  honors  about  equally  divided.  The 
trade  unions  steadily  progressed  and  many  of  them 
finally  won  favor  in  the  eyes  of  their  former  detractors. 
The  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  was  often 
referred  to  as  a  model. 

Whenever  the  trade  union  was  successful  it  occupied 
exactly  the  same  position  among  workingmen  as  the 
trusts  did  in  the  business  world.  It  became  a  monopoly 
in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word.  That  was  just  what  it 
wanted  to  become  and  was  the  realization  of  the  hopes 
of  its  projectors.  That  was  what  the  union  was  organ- 


SOME    SOCIAL   PHENOMENA  63 

ized  for.  They  named  the  minimum  wage  for  which 
their  members  would  work  and  would  engage  on  no  job 
which  employed  non-union  men.  Not  a  very  liberal 
or  philanthropic  policy,  but  it  was  the  .only  one  which 
was  fitted  to  the  mechanical  age.  It  was  copied  directly 
from  the  plan  adopted  by  their  employers,  and  it  was 
the  scientific  and  inevitable  alternative  of  starvation. 
It  was  decidedly  rough  on  the  man  who  was  out  of  work 
and  who  was  willing  to  undertake  the  same  amount  of 
labor  for  less  money.  The  same  complaint  was  made 
by  the  small  concern  when  the  trust  froze  it  out  of 
business. 

And  so  the  trade  union  established  itself,  and  slowly 
but  surely  extended  its  scope  and  power. 

The  author  repeats  that  he  does  not  desire  to  be 
misunderstood  as  having  in  the  preceding  pages  made, 
or  attempted  to  make,  a  defense  for  the  principle  on 
which  the  trusts  and  trade  unions  were  founded.  Both 
were  essentially  selfish  in  their  conception  and  harsh 
and  cruel  in  the  execution  of  their  respective  policies/ 
But  they  were  not  responsible.  They  were  born  that 
way. 

The  misshapen  children  of  competition  and  greed 
had  a  hard  schooling  in  the  mechanical  age  and  had 
learned  their  lessons  well.  They  believed  in  the  truth 
of  the  adage  that  self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of 
nature  and  also  in  that  Darwinian  theory  concerning 
the  survival  of  the  fittest.  They  believed  they  were  the 
fittest. 

There  was  not  enough  work  for  all  and  the  trade 
union  was  formed  to  monopolize  what  there  was  and 
protect  its  members.  There  were  more  factories  than 
the  country  needed  and  the  trust  protected  its  stock 
holders.  If  manufacturing  concerns  must  fail  for  lack 
of  patronage,  due  to  a  defective  social  system,  the 
trust  proposed  that  no  such  calamity  should  befall  any 
of  its  members.  They  regretted  that  any  concern 
nhould  fail,  but  they  did  not  frame  the  government 
and  were  only  doing  the  best  they  could  under  the  cir 
cumstances. 


64  PRESIDENT   JOHN    iMITH 

The  trade  unions  felt  the  same  way  about  it.  They 
sincerely  regretted  that  there  was  not  enough  work  to 
go  around,  but  under  the  circumstances  felt  compelled 
to  reserve  what  little  there  was  for  their  own  members. 
Any  one  having  the  required  dues  and  having  been 
duly  elected  could  join  the  union. 

As  it  was  inevitable  that  some  must  starve  for  want 
of  work, the  trade  unionists  declined  to  offer  themselves 
up  as  martyrs.  It  was  not  an  age  of  martyrs — it  was  a 
mechanical  age. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  in  the  merry  whirligig  of 
time  that  the  year  1898  rolled  around  and  found  the 
trusts  and  trade  unions  entrenched  behind  their  respect 
ive  breastworks,  arrayed  against  the  world  at  large 
and  prepared  to  protect  themselves  against  the  panic- 
stricken,  half-starved  and  undisciplined  hordes  outside 
their  lines.  Between  the  trusts  and  the  unions  there 
existed  a  sort  of  armed  neutrality,  each  ready  to 
take  advantage  of  some  weakness  of  the  other  without 
asking  or  expecting  quarter. 

Aside  from  their  established  and  inflexible  policy  of 
monopolizing  work — a  purely  selfish,  but,  under  the 
circumstances,  a  justifiable  policy — the  unions  did  a 
magnificent  educational  work.  They  taught  the  work 
men  the  much-needed  lesson  that  they  had  nothing  to 
expect  from  the  government  as  it  was  then  organized 
and  managed.  The  trade  union  served  as  a  preparatory 
school  for  that  social  and  governmental  substitute 
which  every  student,  thinker  and  close  observer  of 
events  regarded  as  inevitable.  The  charge  was  fre 
quently  made  that  the  trade  union  was  a  socialist  prod 
uct,  and  the  trade  unionists  were  at  times  classed 
with  socialists  and  anarchists  by  ignorant  writers  and 
speakers  who  did  not  even  know  or  seemingly  care  to 
learn  even  the  dictionary  meanings  of  these  oft-used 
words. 

Of  all  the  phases  of  ignorance,  bigotry  and  prejudice 
which  prevailed  during  the  period  under  consideration, 
that  concerning  socialism  was  the  most  pronounced. 
Before  1870  the  word  "socialist"  could  hardly  be  said 
to  be  in  the  American  vocabulary. 


SOME    SOCIAL   PHENOMENA  65 

Well-read  people  before  the  war  considered  the  social 
ist  a  harmless  theorist  who  had  a  scheme  for  a  pater 
nal  form  of  government  in  which  the  state  should  act 
as  the  employer  and  distributer  of  all  products.  This 
was  a  fairly  accurate  statement  of  the  opinions  held  by 
the  average  socialist  and  did  him  no  serious  injustice. 
He  was  regarded  in  about  the  same  light  as  a  spirit 
ualist,  a  green  backer,  an  anglomaniac  or  any  other 
person  who  entertained  views  not  in  accord  with  the 
majority.  No  one  had  accused  him  of  a  desire  to  wade 
in  blood,  and  the  newspaper  paragrapher  had  not  then 
discovered  that  the  socialist  never  took  a  bath. .  The 
great  mass  of  the  people  had  never  heard  of  one,  or, 
if  they  had,  gave  the  subject  no  thought, 

At  the  time  of  the  panic  of  1873  it  is  doubtful  if 
there  were  500  avowed  socialists  in  the  United  States. 
The  country  had  been  so  uniformly  prosperous  that 
any  proposition  to  make  a  social  or  governmental 
change  would  have  received  no  favor.  Even  during  the 
four  years  of  severe  depression  following  the  panic  of 
1873  there  was  little  or  no  talk  about  socialism.  Thera 
was  no  socialistic  agitation,  and  the  few  placid  gentle 
men  who  believed  in  socialism  made  little  attempt  to 
propagate  their  theories.  Then  came  the  big  strike  of 
1877,  which  started  among  the  railroad  men,  the  vast 
majority  of  whom  were'*' Americans  and  not  two  per  cent 
of  whom  even  belonged  to  unions.  The  strike  spread 
and  embraced  a  hundred  industries.  The  strikers  took 
possession  of  property,  and  in  Pittsburg,  Buffalo,  Chi 
cago  and  other  places  riots  followed  in  which  scores 
were  killed  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property 
destroyed.  Not  until  the  government  ordered  the  reg 
ular  army  to  the  front  was  the  trouble  quelled. 

It  was  then  and  not  until  then  that  the  American  peo 
ple  heard  of  socialists  and  anarchists.  They  were  the 
ones  who  did  it — tba  terrible  socialists  and  anarchists. 
Innocent  people  weva  almost  frightened  to  death  by 
stories  of  the  plotting  of  the  bloodthirsty  socialists. 
Little  children  were  told  that  socialists  \vould  catch 
them  if  they  did  not  behave.  So  it  came  to  pass  that 


66  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

for  many  years  following  the  riots  the  word  "socialist" 
was  used  as  a  general  term  to  designate  a  rioter,  a  rev 
olutionist,  a  plotter  against  good  government,  a  worth 
less  vagabond  who  imagined  that  the  world  owed  him 
a  living.  In  the  vocabulary  of  those  days  "anarchist" 
was  synonymous  with  "socialist,"  and  the  two  words 
were  used  interchangeably 

Later  on  it  came  to  be  generally  understood  that  an 
archy  was  a  term  used  to  designate  something  a  grade 
worse  than  socialism.  A  man  who  instigated  a  strike 
or  made  a  speech  at  a  labor  meeting  or  declared  that 
something  was  wrong  with  the  government  was  a  so 
cialist  ;but  the  man  who  physically  assaulted  non-union 
workmen  or  advised  a  crowd  to  hang  Jay  Gould  or  ad 
vocated  the  use  of  dynamite  was  an  anarchist.  An 
archy  was  the  high  school  in  the  educational  course  of 
depravity. 

It  might  be  imagined  that  this  confusion  of  terms 
existed  only  among  the  more  ignorant  and  careless 
class.  Not  at  all.  Even  in  1891,  when  the  social  de 
mocracy  of  Germany  carried  the  city  of  Berlin  by  tre 
mendous  majorities  and  the  socialists  of  that  great 
empire  held  the  balance  of  power  in  all  Europe,  not 
one -fifth  of  the  alleged  well-read  people  of  the  United 
States  could  give  an  intelligent  definition  of  socialism. 
Even  in  1893,  when  every  magazine  in  the  United 
States  was  discussing  socialism  in  all  its  phases,  when 
every  literary  man  of  any  prominence  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic  was  an  avowed  socialist,  when  socialism 
was  preached  from  the  pulpit  by  socialistic  preachers, 
and  its  principles  explained  in  the  great  colleges  and 
universities  of  the  country  by  socialist  professors,  half 
the  newspapers  of  the  country,  including  the  majority 
of  the  great  metropolitan  dailies,  made — with  evident 
surprise — the  sober  announcement  that  William  Dean 
Howells  was  writing  a  book  giving  his  theories  on 
socialism  and  that  "Mr.  Howells  was  a  socialist  and 
almost  an  anarchist." 

If  they  had  announced  that  Mr. Howells  was  42  years 
old  and  almost  an  octogenarian  or  that  he  had  white 


SOME    SOCIAL   PHENOMENA  67 

hair,  almost  black,  there  would  have  been  some  sur 
prise,  but  as  it  was  the  incident  passed  without  notice. 
Mr.  Howells  was  amused;  those  who  knew  what  the 
two  words  meant  were  too  disgusted  to  say  anything, 
and  the  people  speculated  on  when  and  where  Howells 
would  throw  his  first  bomb.  This  description  of  the 
prevailing  ignorance  concerning  socialism  and  what  it 
meant  is  not  to  the  least  extent  overdrawn. 

There  were  then,  as  there  are  to-day,  several  schools 
and  branches  of  socialism.  There  were  anarchists  of 
varying  beliefs.  But  all  socialists  agreed  on  certain 
points,  and  all  anarchists  believed  in  certain  doctrines, 
and  the  two  were  as  widely  separated  as  the  east  is 
from  the  west  and  as  antagonistic  as  heat  is  to  cold  or 
light  to  darkness. 

The  socialist  believed  that  the  greatest  average  good 
to  the  human  race  could  be  obtained  by  the  perfection 
of  the  government;  the  anarchist  believed  that  these 
ends  could  only  be  obtained  by  the  absolute  annihila 
tion  of  the  government. 

The  socialist  believed  in  the  perfection  of  the  law; 
the  anarchist  believed  in  no  law  and  claimed  that  the 
people  could  take  care  of  themselves  without  written 
law. 

The  socialist  believed  in  paternalism;  the  anarchist 
believed  that  the  individual  could  do  more  for  himself 
than  could  any  government,  and  only  asked  to  he  al 
lowed  to  work  out  his  own  salvation. 

The  socialist  believed  in  the  justice  of  the  rule  of  the 
majority;  the  anarchist  held  that  no  majority,  however 
great,  had  the  right  to  dictate  to  an  individual;  that 
the  man  was  greater  than  the  state. 

The  socialist  believed  in  the  supremacy  of  the  state; 
the  anarchist  believed  in  the  supremacy  of  the  individ 
ual.  The  socialist  had  in  contemplation  a  government 
made  perfect  through  wise  laws  passed  by  a  majority 
of  the  people;  a  government  in  which  the  state  should 
be  given  supervision  over  those  industries  and  methods 
of  production  in  which  the  people  had  a  common  in 
terest.  The  socialists  pointed  to  the  postofBce,  the 


68  PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH 

public  schools  and  the  municipal  systems  of  water 
works  as  familiar  examples  of  state  socialism,  and 
claimed  that  the  state  could  with  equal  success  manage 
other  branches  of  industries. 

The  anarchists  claimed  that  man  was  not  made  to 
be  governed;  that  he  needed  no  laws;  that  if  a  com 
munity  were  left  by  itself  unhampered  and  unrestricted 
by  laws  it  would  get  along  splendidly;  that  men  broke 
laws  simply  because  the  laws  were  on  the  statute-books 
and  committed  crimes  only  because  they  were  unnatur 
ally  restrained.  They  declared  that  private  corporations 
could  render  cheaper  and  more  efficient  postal  service 
than  the  government  did,  and  that  the  same  was  true 
with  schools,  waterworks,  etc. 

And  Mr.  Howells  "was  a  socialist  and  almost  an  an 
archist."  What  a  state  of  mind  he  must  have  been  in! 

It  is  important  that  history  should  preserve  the  com 
monly  -accepted  definition  of  socialism  by  those  who 
claimed  to  have  "read  something"  about  its  principles. 
Here  is  a  faithful  reproduction  of  what  one  of  those 
philosophers  would  say  when  asked  to  define  socialism: 
"I  tell  you  what  socialism  is.  A  socialist  is  a  fellow 
who  has  been  too  lazy  and  shiftless  to  work  and  wants 
to  divide.  Yes,  sir,  he  wants  to  divide.  Here  is  a  man 
who  has  been  saving  his  money  all  his  life  and  has  a  lit 
tle  home,  and  along  comes  one  of  these  socialists  and 
says  to  him,  'You  have  got  to  divide  up  with  me.  We 
are  all  going  to  divide  up  and  start  over  again.'  That's 
socialism  Now,  of  course,  I  don't  think  it's  just  right 
for  Jay  Gould  and  Vanderbilt  and  those  fellows  to  have 
so  much  money,  but  suppose  they  did  divide  up?  What 
good  would  it  dp  them  socialists?  Gould  and  the  rest 
of  them  would  have  it  all  back  in  a  few  years.  There 
is  no  socialism  about  me.  What  I  want  is  to  have  the 
government  buy  the  railroads  and  some  other  things 
and  run  them  so  as  to  give  us  a  fair  chance.  I  don't 
want  no  socialism  in  mine." 

How  this  conception  of  socialism  originated  will  ever 
remain  a  mystery.  There  is  no  book  extant  containing 
any  theory  based  on  the  desire  fora  general  division  of 


The  workingman  and  the  employer. 
CO 


SOME    SOCIAL    PHENOMENA  71 

property,  and  in  all  the  writings,  speeches,  essays  and 
newspaper  contributions  which  expounded,  explained 
and  defended  socialism  as  it  was  then  understood  there 
cannot  be  found  a  hint  of  any  such  foolish  doctrines-. 
There  were  several  more  or  less  distinct  schools  of  so 
cialism, but  none  of  them  advocated  a  division  of  prop 
erty.  They  all  protested  because  property  was  divided, 
and  each  school  advocated  some  method  by  which  cer 
tain  classes  of  property  could  be  combined, consolidated 
and  merged  under  the  control  of  the  state.  Some  so 
cialists  desired  the  absolute  abolition  of  private  prop 
erty  of  any  kind  and  proposed  that  the  state  should 
have  supervision  even  to  domestic  affairs.  They  pict 
ured  a  Utopia  in  which  greed,  selfishness  and  vice  had 
absolutely  disappeared.  This  was  a  beautiful  theory; 
had  many  enthusiastic  but  visionary  followers,  who 
were  quite  charmingly  seathetic  and  optimistic  in  their 
opinions  of  the  state  of  the  future.  They  indorsed  most 
of  the  views  expressed  by  Edward  Bellamy  in  a  book 
entitled  "Looking  Backward,"  which  described  a 
highly  advanced  civilization  in  which  people  had  come 
to  such  a  point  that  it  was  as  profitable  an  occupation 
to  serve  as  a  waiter  in  a  restaurant  as  to  be  the  manager 
of  a  national  system  of  railroad  lines,  and  the  social 
standing  of  waiters  and  railroad  president  was  the 
same.  There  were  no  private  dining-rooms;  all  ate  at 
the  great  hotels,  and  all,  of  course,  fared  sumptuously. 
The  abolition  of  selfishness  had  solved  all  problems. 
The  most  serious  drawback  to  this  system  of  socialism 
lay  in  the  firm  grip  selfishness  had  previously  taken  on 
the  human  anatomy.  However,  these  good  people  did 
not  advocate  dividing,  and  Mr.  Bellamy  was  never 
arrested  for  manufacturing  bombs  or  inciting  riots 

Then  there  were  other  socialists  who  did  not  go  quite 
so  far  as  this,  and  they  graded  down  to  the  man  whose 
socialism  consisted  solt-ly  in  defending  the  common 
schools  and  other  existing  state  institutions  against 
the  attacks  of  avowed  and  unconscious  anarchists. 

On  broad  lines  the  people  of  the  entire  country  were 
either  socialists  or  anarchists.  They  were  either  col- 


72  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

lectivists  or  individualists.  They  either  had  faith  in 
the  value  of  government  institutions  and  were  in  favor 
of  extending  the  scope  of  the  government  or  they  con 
sidered  the  government  only  as  a  more  or  less  necessary 
compact  and  held  that  "that  government  governed  best 
which  governed  least." 

In  principle,  theory  and  declaration  the  Republican 
party  was  emphatic  in  its  espousal  of  socialism.  In 
practice  it  was  more  or  less  so,  but  the  trend  was  ever 
socialistic.  Among  the  more  conspicuous  examples  of 
Republican  socialistic  acts  and  legislation  may  be 
mentioned : 

1.  A  united  demand   backed  by  force  of  arms  to  se 
cure  the  perpetuation  of  the  union  of  states.  The  claim 
of  the  south    that    it    had    the    right    to    secede  was   a 
purely  anarchistic   declaration.   They  wanted   to   "di 
vide,"  the  socialist  north  wanted  to  unite. 

2.  The    fostering   of  railroads  and  canals  through 
gifts  of  subsidies  in  money  and  land  grants.     The  gov 
ernment  helped  in  a  work  which  the  individual  was  too 
weak  to  undertake  unaided 

3.  The  levying  of  a  protective  tariff  for  the  defense 
of  American  manufacturers  and  workmen  against  for 
eign  competition  was  a  form  of  socialism. 

4.  The  payment  of  pensions  to  ex-soldiers  and  vet 
erans  of  wars  was  a  Republican    measure  and   was  so 
cialism  in  the  purest  sense  of   the  word.     In  a  general 
way  Republican   speakers,   conventions  and  audiences 
glowed  in  their  praise  of  the  government,   shouted  for 
the  old  flag,    raved    about    the  littlo   red  schoolhouse, 
denounced  people  for  not  being  in  accord  with  the  spir 
it  of  American  institutions, and  went  to  that  dangerous 
extreme   of    patriotism   which  defends  a  government, 
good    or    bad,    and    declines   to   listen   to  argument  or 
logic.    That  subsidies,  land  grants,  the  protective  tariff 
and  th-3  pension  laws  were  abused,  and  that  the  people 
were  robbed  by  scoundrels  shouting  for  the  old  Hag  did 
not  prove  that  these  socialistic  features  of  the  govern 
ment  were  wrong  in   principle.      Whatever   failuve  at 
taches  to  them  may  be  directly  traced  to  an  anarchistic 
constitution,  which  successfully  subverted  the  right  of 

cia   i-faalf   anrl     4-.r»     rrr»\roTn 


SOME   SOCIAL  PHENOMENA  ?3 

The  Democratic  party  from  the  time  of  its  birth  was 
saturated  with  the  spirit  of  anarchy.  Democrats,  an 
archists  and  monarchists  inspired  and  dictated  the  con 
stitution,  and  a  man  was  never  counted  a  good  Demo 
crat  unless  he  was  what  was  termed  a  "strict  construc- 
tionist. "  He  was  able  to  defend  and  find  an  excuse  for 
every  blundering  clause  in  the  constitution,  and  seemed 
only  to  regret  that  its  incorporation  had  not  included 
some  more  stupendous  piece  of  idiocy  that  he  might 
prove  his  rock-rooted  bourbonism  by  falling  down  and 
venerating  it. 

Democracy  was  anarchistic  in  that  it  denied  the 
rights  of  the  majority  and  affirmed  those  of  the  minor 
ity.  It  believed  in  state  rights — that  the  state  was 
superior  to  the  government— that  the  association  of 
states  was  merely  voluntary — all  of  which  was  exactly 
in  the  line  of  the  kind  of  anarchy  which  Parsons,  Spies 
and  Lingg  preached  in  Chicago,  and  for  which  they 
were  hanged. 

Democracy  was  in  favor  of  cutting  down  the  powers 
of  the  government  to  the  lowest  possible  limit,  and 
hoped  to  finally  reach  the  time  when  government  would 
be  unnecessary.  That  was  also  what  the  anarchists 
wanted.  In  the  pursuance  of  that  policy  the  Demo 
crats  opposed  subsidies  of  all  kinds,  fought  pensions, 
resisted  appropriations  of  money  on  every  possible  pre 
text,  and  prayed  twice  a  day  to  the  spirit  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  with  whom  all  knowledge  of  government 
ceased.  Jefferson  was  a  great  man,  and  he  may  have 
had  a  prophetic  vision  of  the  coming  republic,  but  he 
never  conjured  up  the  bourbon  Democrat  of  1893,  ex 
cept  in  a  nightmare. 

The  anarchists  had  the  best  of  the  situation.  The 
political  game  was  being  pla}7ed  on  rules  laid  down  by 
them,  and  so  long  as  the  constitution  survived  in  any 
thing  like  its  original  shape  there  was  no  danger  of  ma 
jority  rule.  There  were  but  slight  indications  that  the 
Republicans  would  soon  dare  breathe  a  word  against  the 
exact  wording  of  the  constitution. 

And  thus  the  country  stumbled  along  under  its  load 


74  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

of  mortgages,  its  armies  of  unemployed,  its  trusts  and 
its  unions;  a  grand  and  magnificent  country  without 
a  statesman;  a  country  tied  hand  and  foot  politically 
by  the  traditions  of  the  past,  blinded  by  bigotry  and 
bunkoed  by  patriotism,  the  majority  helpless  to  voice 
a  protest  or  right  a  wrong  until  the  inevitable  came— 
the  panic  of  1893. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A   COMPLEX   SITUATION. 

CONFIDENCE  figured  largely  in  the  panic  of  1893. 
The  daily  records  of  that  time  gravely  announced 
that  the  trouble  was  mainly  "lack  of  confidence  " 
Every  one  was  waiting  for  a  "return  of  confidence  " 
The  panic  was  "sentimental,"  so  many  writers  said.  It 
appears  that  this  lack  of  confidence  and  sentimentality 
was  all  on  the  part  of  our  old  friend  the  business  man. 
There  were  a  great  many  reasons  given  in  explanation 
of  how  the  business  man  happened  to  lose  that  indis 
pensable  factor  in  production  and  prosperity — "confi 
dence."  Here  are  some  of  them: 

1.  The  protective  tariff  and  the  McKinley  bill 

2.  The  fear  that  the  Democrats  were  going  to  repeal 
the  McKinley  bill  and  reduce  the  tariff. 

3.  The  Sherman  bill,  which  authorized  the  purchase 
of  4,500,000  ounces  of  silver  a  month.   This  had  debased 
currency,  so  the  gold  monometallist  declared. 

4.  A  scarcity  of  money. 

5.  A  lack  of  faith  in  the  Democratic  party. 

6.  Too  many  foreigners  in  the  country. 

7.  The  Columbian  Exposition. 

There  were  some  who  had  another  reason.  They  ex 
plained  that  it  might  be  possible  that  the  factories  had 
shut  down  because  they  had  enough  stock  on  hand  to 
last  awhile  and  that  the  manufacturers  could  not  afford 
to  go  ahead  and  accumulate  an  indefinite  amount  of 
stock  with  no  purchaser  in  sight.  The  manufacturer, 
when  asked,  promptly  confirmed  this  explanation  and 
said  he  would  start  the  shops  as  soon  as  the  demand 
for  its  products  warranted  him  iq  doing  so. 

75 


76  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

being  no  politics  in  this  explanation,  the  statesman  of 
the  day  calmly  ignored  the  stupid  business  man  and 
spent  several  months  in  a  discussion  of  the  Sherman 
bill.  They  might  better  have  spent  their  time  in  dis 
cussing  the  hydraulic  paradox.  The  only  valuable  service 
was  that  rendered  by  the  Senate,  which  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  it  should  never  have  been  created. 

An  entire  library  might  be  devoted  to  the  explanations 
given  at  that  time  of  the  causes  of  the  panic.  It  cer 
tainly  was  a  remarkable  affair.  It  was  entirely  different 
from  anything  which  had  preceded  it.  Such  bewilder 
ing  and  inexplicable  things  happened.  There  was  no 
money  to  be  had  for  a  time  and  the  green  backers  and 
silver  men  wildly  proclaimed  that  the  currency  was  so 
contracted  that  the  people  could  not  do  business.  They 
made  a  great  ado  about  it  until  the  United  States  treas 
ury  department  made  a  statement  proving  that  the  ag 
gregate  circulation  of  money  was  $1,701, 939,918, which 
amounted  to  $25.29  per  capita  on  an  estimated  popula 
tion  of  67,806,000.  This  was  the  highest  per  capita  in  a 
generation  and  was  nearly  50  per  cent  in  excess  of  lhat 
immediately  after  the  resumption  of  specie  payment 
July  1,  1879,  when  the  amount  was  $16.75.  So  it  evi 
dently  was  not  a  shortage  in  the  total  amount  cf  money 
somewhere  stored  or  in  circulation. 

Laying  aside  for  a  time  the  further  consideration  of 
the  muddled  opinions  entertained  at  the  time  of  the 
panic,  let  us  ascertain  the  exact  facts.  The  time  has 
come  when  an  unimpassioned  history  can  be  written, 
uninfluenced  by  gold  bugs,  silver  men,  green  backers  and 
other  financial  combatants  who  called  each  other  names 
and  strove  to  save  the  country,  each  in  his  own  way, 
back  in  that  bewildering  year  1893. 

The  close  of  the  war  found  the  Republican  party  so 
firmly  intrenched  in  power  that  even  the  panic  of  1873 
did  not  depose  it.  The  majority  of  the  people  expressed 
dissatisfaction  and  unrest  by  giving  Samuel  Tilden  a 
popular  majority  of  over  100,000  in  the  presidential 
election  of  1876,  but  under  the  representative  form  of 
government  which  then  existed  Mr.  Hayes  was  counted 


A   COMPLEX    SITUATION  77 

in.  During  his  administration  the  country  absorbed 
the  overproduction  of  1873,  and  the  close  of  his  term 
found  a  financial  boom  at  its  height  and  on  that  wave 
Garn'eld  was  elected  by  a  tremendous  plurality. 

Another  period  of  overproduction  and  hard  times 
marked  the  close  of  his  term,  and  even  the  magic  of 
Elaine's  name  was  not  sufficient  to  carry  the  Repub 
lican  party  to  victory. 

Cleveland  assumed  the  reins  of  power  and  he  was  in 
the  saddle  as  a  result  of  a  general  desire  for  a  "change." 
The  first  two  years  of  his  administration  were  marked 
by  failures,  riots  and  strikes,  after  which  the  country 
recovered  and  entered  on  another  era  of  boom  and  pros 
perity.  In  a  message  to  Congress  Cleveland  declared 
in  favor  of  radical  tariff  reform,  so  scaring  the  man 
ufacturers  that  they  contributed  a  great  corruption 
fund,  and  Harrison  defeated  hfm,  Cleveland  carrying 
the  country,  however,  by  a  popular  plurality. 

This  was  in  1888.  Harrison  found  the  country  in  fairly 
good  shape,  but  in  1890  there  were  symptoms  of  trouble, 
find  in  1892  Cleveland  swept  the  country  by  the  largest 
plurality  ever  cast  for  the  candidate  of  any  party.  If 
there  could  have  been  a  vote  two  years  later  Mr.  Cleve 
land  would  have  been  retired  by  a  still  larger  vote. 
What  was  the  matter  with  the  people?  Did  they  not 
know  their  own  minds?  They  were  simply  attempt 
ing  to  bring  about  good  times  by  electing  men  and  re 
garded  any  political  "change"  as  an  improvement 
over' the  cna  they  had  been  compelled  to  endure. 

Juat  .before  Mr.  Cleveland  was  inaugurated  the  sec 
ond  time  a  decided  boom  set  in.  Factories  were  run 
ning  full  force  and  every  one  was  busy.  Money  was  so 
plentiful  that  the  city  of  Chicago  had  little  difficulty 
in  raising  $22,000,000  for  the  Columbian  Exposition. 
The  railroads  were  doing  a  good  business,  wheat  was 
high,  and  everything  was  lovely.  Cleveland  had  been 
elected  on  a  platform  which  promised  a  radical  reduc 
tion  in  the  tariff.  The  people  had  declared  overwhelm 
ingly  in  favor  of  that  policy  and  had  carried  for  the 
first  time  both  branches  of  Congress.  The  Democrats 


78  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

were  in  a  position  to  redeem  these  promises.  For  years 
they  had  preached  that  the  protective  tariff  was  what 
was  blighting  the  country;  that  it  had  prevented  us 
from  competing  in  foreign  markets  and  kept  our  work 
men  out  of  employment.  For  twenty  years  tariff  reform 
had  been  the  great  issue.  In  the  election  of  1890  the 
people  had  repudiated  the  McKinley  bill  and  in  1892 
they  had  arisen  almost  as  a  man  against  it.  Some  peo 
ple  imagined  that  with  Cleveland's  election  on  such  a 
clearly  defined  issue  every  factory  in  the  country  would 
take  alarm  and  quit.  They  did  nothing  of  the  kind 
and  went  ahead  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Why? 
The  manufacturers  had  decided  that  even  free  trade 
would  not  affect  them,  as  they  were  then  situated,  and 
they  were  sick  a-nd  tired  of  being  bled  by  the  Republi 
can  campaign  managers,  and  compelled  to  pay  all  the 
expenses  of  the  election.  They  figured  the  thing  out 
as  only  good  business  men  can,  and  found  that  the  bal 
ance  was  in  favor  of  free  trade, foreign  markets,  and  no 
politics,  as  against  high  tariff,  home  markets,and  reg 
ular  contributions  for  a  corruption  fund.  And  so  they 
declined  to  "thaw  out"  in  the  ufat-frying  process" 
and  consequently  the  Republicans  were  almost  swept 
out  of  existence  in  the  political  cyclone  which  fol 
lowed. 

So,  therefore, to  the  great  surprise  of  the  high  protec 
tionists,  the  manufacturers  contemplated  with  compla 
cency  the  coming  doom  of  high  tariff  and  continued 
their  factories  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

This  conclusively  shows  the  falsity  of  the  charge 
which  was  frequently  made  by  Republican  demagogues 
in  1898  and  1894, that  the  panic  was  due  to  a  fear  of  a 
change  in  the  tariff.  Had  that  been  the  cause  the 
panic  would  have  started  the  8th  of  November,  1892, 
the  day  after  the  election,  and  not  have  waited  nearly 
a  year  for  the  manufacturers  to  take  fright.  Just  after 
the  election  there  was  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
Cleveland  would  call  a  special  session  of  Congress  to 
go  to  work  on  the  tariff.  Nothing  of  the  kind  was  done. 
When  the  panic  did  occur  every  word  and  line  of  the 


A  COMPLEX   SITUATION  79 

McKinley  bill  was  in  force  and  effect  and  the  discus 
sion  of  the  tariff  had  entirely  dropped.  When  Cleve 
land  did  call  Congress  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  repeal 
ing  the  Sherman  silver  bill,  which  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  tariff. 

With  these  facts  so  apparent  that  no  one  had  any 
right  to  misunderstand  them,  every  hide-bound  Re 
publican  partisan  shut  his  eyes  and  howled  that  Cleve 
land  and  the  free  traders  had  brought  the  wrath  of  God 
upon  the  country. 

But  the  panic  was  on  hand.     It  struck  the  country 
.with  full  force  in  July  and  August,  1898,and  left  in  its 
train  600  broken  banks. 

From  all  over  the  country  came  the  reports  of  bank 
rupt  business  houses  and  ruined  firms.  Great  manufac 
turing  concerns  locked  their  doors,  put  out  their  fires, 
and  notified  their  men  that  the  shops  were  closed  for 
an  indefinite  period.  Money  disappeared  as  does  a  tur 
tle's  head  on  the  approach  of  a  foe.  Banks  drew  in 
their  loans  and  refused  to  extend  any  accommoda 
tions.  Business  men  with  assets  amounting  to 
$1,000,000  were  unable  to  secure  an  advance  of  $10,000 
on  gilt-edge  security.  Nor  was  this  appalling  condition 
of  affairs  confined  to  the  United  States.  Australia 
was  in  the  throes  of  an  even  more  severe  panic,  and 
Australia  had  no  McKinley  bill  or  other  valid  reason 
fo11  plunging  into  ruin.  England  was  suffering  from 
severe  financial  depression,  and  from  Germany,  Bel 
gium  and  France  came  stories  of  widespread  business 
disaster,  The  devastating  scourge  of  panic  smote  free- 
trade  England,  protected  Germany  and  prance  with 
almost  equal  force.  There  was  no  panic  in  China. 
There  was  no  panic  in  Japan  or  Java.  It  may  have 
been  a  mere  coincidence,  but  panics  were  always  in  the 
CDiintries  whioh  had  created  the  mechanical  age.  When 
a  cog  in  the  great  machine  became  clogged  in  Australia 
or  even  in  the  Argentine  Republic  the  whole  civilized 
world  shuddered.  Then  the  wise  statesmen  and  the 
smug-faoed  politicians  of  each  country  would  tell  their 
constituents  just  how  it  happened,  and  how  it  could 


80  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

all  have  been  avoided  had  John  Jones  been  elected  in 
place  of  Bill  Smith  several  years  before,  or  had  their 
party  been  continued  in  power, and  so  on  ad  nauseam. 

How  about  our  old  friend  the  Trust?  How  did  the 
Trust  stand  the  panic?  First-rate,  thank  you. 

To  tell  the  truth,  the  Trust  was  the  fellow  who  first 
"lost  confidence."  He  lost  it  along  about  Jan.  1,  1892, 
at  which  time  some  of  the  jobbing  houses  and  retailers 
reported  that  they  did  not  care  to  order  any  more  goods 
for  the  present, as  they  were  unable  to  dispose  of  stocks 
already  on  hand.  The  Trust  proceeded  cautiously,  and 
when  all  the  jobbers  and  retailers  were  in  the  same 
condition  the  Trust  closed  down  its  shops.  It  did  not 
fail,  it  simply  quit.  The  Trust  had  a  small  surplus  of 
manufactured  goods  on  hand,  enough  to  fill  all  imme 
diate  demands,  but  it  had  no  great  amount  of  capital 
locked  up  for  an  indefinite  period.  Some  of  the  trusts 
went  to  the  extreme  of  conservatism  in  limiting  produc 
tion,  and  were  compelled  to  resume  work  right  at  the 
height  of  the  panic.  A  notable  instance  of  this  was 
the  experience  of  the  sugar  trust,  which  miscalculated 
the  consumption  of  sugar,  and  as  a  result  there  was  a 
sugar  famine  all  over  the  United  States  during  the 
greatest  period  of  depression.  The  trust  reopened  its 
refineries, called  back  its  idle  men, laid  in  a  small  stock 
of  material,  and  again  closed  its  works.  The  various 
trusts  were  also  careful  in  their  dealings  with  the  re 
tailers  and  jobbers,  as  all  well-managed  trusts  should 
be,  and  as  the  panic  progressed  closed  many  of  them 
up  and  sold  their  stocks  at  auction. 

As  the  members  of  the  trust  looked  back  to  1873  and 
recalled  the  days  when  they  separately  went  into  bank 
ruptcy  they  more  than  ever  appreciated  the  blessings 
which  accrue  with  trusts  and  an  advancing  civilization. 
In  1873  they  were  going  it  blind,  piling  up  stocks  in 
expectation  of  a  coining  market,  cutting  prices  right 
and  left,  squandering  money  in  advertising,  trampling 
each  other  under  foot,  until  the  crash  came  and  only 
the  stronger  ones  survived  to  tell  the  tale.  The  more 
fortunate  found  themselves  with  enough  surplus  and 


A   COMPLEX   SITUATION  81 

depreciated  stock  on  hand  to  last  several  years.  Those 
were  sad  but  profitable  days  to  the  man  who  ID  later 
years  joined  the  trust. 

A  familiar  newspaper  item  in  the  summer  of  1898 
read  about  as  folio, vs: 

"CLEVELAND,  O,,  July  28,  1893.  — W.  H,  Hardluc  & 
Co.,  the  well-known  manufacturers  of  harness  and 
carriage-makers',  specialties,  have  made  an  assign  nont 
to-day.  The  assets  are  estimated  at  $435,000  and  the 
liabilities  at  $43,200.  The  assets  consist  largely  of  stock 
and  matorial  on  hand, and  Mr. Hardluc  insists  that  every 
creditor  will  be  paid  in  full  if  he  is  given  a  chance  to 
dispose  of  goods  already  manufactured.  Hardluc  &  Co. 
withdrew  from  the  trust  two  years  ago  and  in  their 
present  embarrassment  have  the  sympathy  and  respect 
of  the  community." 

Here  was  another  common  one: 

"OMAHA,  Neb.,  Aug.3,1893,—  Rush  &  Co., the  leading 
dry-goods  house  west  of  Chicago,  was  closed  to-day  on 
an  execution  for  $21,382.50  in  favor  of  National  Wool 
en  Goods  association  (limited)  of  New  York  City.  The 
failure  has  created  a  sensation  and  was  entirely  un- 
lo^ked  for.  Up  to  yesterday  noon  Mr,  Rush  fully  ex 
pected  to  be  able  to  meet  the  claim,  but  found  it  im 
possible  to  raise  the  money.  The  total  assets  of  Rush  & 
Co,  will  exceed  $1.250,000  and  the  .liabilities  not  more 
than  $340,000.  Dullness  in  trade  and  inability  to  make' 
collections  from  retailers  is  ascribed  as  the  cause  of 
the  failure.  Mr.  Rush  hopes  to  make  an  arrangement 
with  the  creditors  for  an  extension  of  time,  otherwise 
the  immense  stock  will  be  sold  at  a  sacrifice." 

In  almost  every  failure  or  suspension  the  assets 
doubled  or  trebled  the  liabilities.  The  companies  found 
themselves  with  immense  stocks  of  purchased  or  man 
ufactured  goods  on  hand  upon  which  it  was  impossible 
to  realize  a  dallar.  The  banks  were  scared  to  death  and 
would  not  part  with  a  dollar.  In  the  course  of  time 
bills  came  due  and  insolvency  followed.  In  a  speech 
before  a  bankers'  convention  held  in  the  autumn  of 
that  year  Comptroller  Eckels  said; 


82  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

"It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  happenings  of 
the  months  past,  from  May  to  September,  must  be  ac 
counted  the  most  remarkable  in  every  phase  of  finan 
cial  bearing  ever  experienced  by  the  American  people. 
Heretofore  in  our  financial  distresses  the  test  of  solvency 
has  always  been  applied  to  store  and  factory,  to  great 
industrial  enterprises  and  railway  corporations,  but 
within  the  period  of  these  months  an  affrighted  people, 
fearful  of  the  resultant  effects  of  a  financial  system 
vitiated  by  ill-advised  and  ill-considered  legislation, 
became  for  the  first  time  doubtful  of  the  distinctively 
financial  institutions  of  the  country,  the  banks,  and  as 
a  consequence  a  steady  drain  upon  deposits  was  begun, 
until  within  the  period  of  two  months,  from  May  4  to 
July  12,  from  national  banks  alone  had  been  drawn 
out  more  than  $198,000,000. 

"To-day  so  greatly  has  the  situation  changed  that, 
having  in  mind  the  past,  both  in  the  severity  of  the 
strain  undergone  and  the  long  continuance  of  it,  it 
would  be  in  the  light  of  the  present  conditions  both 
unfair  and  unjust  to  deny  that  the  bankers  of  this 
country  have  exhibited  masterful  skill  in  coping  with 
a  situation  rendered  complex  beyond  anything  hereto 
fore  known."" 

The  bankers  certainly  showed  great  skill  "in  coping 
with  a  situation  rendered  complex  beyond  anything 
heretofore  known,"  and  as  a  result  5,000  business  and 
manufacturing  firms  were  strangled  to  death  with  a 
loss  of  only  600  banks.  It  was  a  glorious  victory. 

The  gold  reserve  was  what  bothered  the  statesmen  of 
both  parties  more  than  anything  else.  To  their  minds 
the  eternal  salvation  of  the  country  depended  on  the 
amount  of  gold  stored  away  in  the  vaults  at  Washing 
ton,  and  under  the  idiotic  system  which  prevailed  they 
were  half  right.  When  the  gold  reserve  rose  their  spirits 
rose,  and  when  it  fell  they  were  cast  into  depths  of 
despair.  Had  it  all  suddenly  been  wiped  out  of  exist 
ence  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  United  States 
would  have  quit  work  and  starved  to  death.  There 
was  a  rule  or  a  tradition,  custom  or  superstition,  that 


A   COMPLEX   SITUATION  Sb 

there  should  be  $100,000,000  in  gold  aa  a  reserve,  a 
sort  of  pocket  piece  for  Uncle  Sam. 

In  the  summer  of  1892  there  were  $120,000,000  in 
this  fund  and  the  boom  was  on  and  everybody  happy. 
Now  this  reserve  depended  almost  entirely  on  the  vol 
ume  of  our  foreign  trade,  and  it  was  depleted  from 
time  to  time  by  the  redemption  of  certificates.  If  the 
balance  of  trade  continued  against  the  country  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  certificates  could  not  be  redeemed, 
why,  that  would  mean  a  financial  cataclysm  in  the 
opinion  of  the  wise  men  at  the  helm.  These  financial 
Brahmins  prostrated  themselves  daily  at  the  feet  of 
the  $100,000,000  reserve  pile  of  gold  and  prayed  God  to 
save  the  poor  people  who  had  nothing  but  several 
hundred  million  acres  of  fertile  land  to  fall  back  upon. 

Mr.  Eckels  was  right  when  he  said  it  was  a  "com 
plex  situation." 

The  gold  reserve  dwindled  away  and, to  the  horror  of 
the  holy  priests  of  finance,  fell  below  the  $100,000,000 
mark.  More  gold  was  going  abroad  than  was  coming 
to  this  country.  The  reasons  for  this  were  plain  aa 
day.  In  the  first  place  a  protective  tariff  against  raw 
materials  had  limited  the  manufacturers  to  a  home 
market.  The  shop  and  mill  owners  paid  into  the  govern 
ment  treasury  the  duties  levied  against  raw  materials, 
added  this  amount  to  the  cost  of  the  product, 
and  charged  it  to  the  consumers  of  the  United  States. 
The  trade  unions  kept  up  the  price  of  labor  and  the 
trusts  also  charged  that  up  against  the  consumers. 
But  the  trust,  powerful  as  it  was,  could  not  change  or 
regulate  the  laws  of  international  commerce,  and,  ex 
cept  in  rare  instances,could  not  compete  in  the  markets 
of  the  world.  The  consumers  paid  all  the  taxes.  The 
consumers  had  paid  all  the  taxes  since  governments 
were  instituted  among  men  and  they  always  will.  Thus 
the  most  prolific  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth  found 
itself  unable  to  sell  its  products  abroad,  and  people 
went  barefoot  in  England  for  want  of  American  shoes, 
and  shoemakers  in  America  starved  because  there 
was  no  work  in  the  shoe  faotory.  Another  "complex 


84  PRESIDENT  JOHN   BMITH 

situation."  Of  course  the  balance  of  trade  was  either 
against  this  country  or  only  slightly  in  favor  of  it. 
Foreign  countries  were  selling  us  tea,  coffee,  cigars, 
woolen  goods,  and  the  hundreds  of  necessities  that 
the  common  people  must  have,  and  the  number 
less  luxuries  that  the  rich  could  afford  to  buy,  and  we 
were  paying  for  them  out  of  the  limited  supply  of  gold. 
Wealthy  Americans  filled  every  stateroom  on  the  great 
steamships  in  the  summer  and  laid  their  gold  at  the 
feet  of  the  British  snobocracy. 

On  top  of  all  that,  production  in  the  United  States 
was  regulated  and  restricted  by  the  trusts,  and  from 
the  very  nature  of  things  nothing  else  could  be  ex 
pected.  The  manufacturer  who  created  a  surplus  paid 
as  the  price  of  his  folly  or  boldness  the  penalty  of 
bankruptcy. 

The  country  was  living  from  hand  to  mouth, cooking 
just  enough  to  last  one  day  ahead,  engaged  in  light 
housekeeping  on  an  extremely  economical  scale.  What 
a  spectacle!  and  not  a  statesman  in  Washington,  not  a 
man  whose  head  rose  above  the  dead  level  of  sickening 
mediocrity. 

The  gold  reserve  decreased  until,  as  it  so  happened, 
England  was  in  a  worse  fix  than  the  United  States, 
and  a  few  millions  came  across  the  Atlantic.  This 
phenomenon  was  witnessed  with  great  rejoicing.  But 
the  current  soon  set  in  the  other  way  and  despair  again 
ruled. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  most 
remarkable  period  was  the  part  played  by  the  "wealthy 
poor."  This  may  appear  a  contradiction  of  terms,  but 
it  is  not.  There  was  such  a  class,  and  they  added  not 
a  little  to  the  general  condition  of  financial  distress. 
When  poverty  had  finally  intrenched  itself  as  an 
American  institution  the  unfortunate  victims  received 
little  sympathy.  Those  who  emerged  from  the  depres 
sion  of  1873-78  in  a  half-starved  condition  were  assured 
that  it  was  their  own  fault.  They  were  told  that  there 
was  always  plenty  of  work  in  the  country — except,  of 
course,  during  times  of  a  panic,  for  which  no  one  was 


A   COMPLEX    SITUATION  85 

to  blama — and  that  any  industrious  man  could  support 
a  family  and  save  up  money  which  would  come  handy 
in  such  an  emergency  as  a  panic. 

Books  were  written  instructing  the  people  how  to 
live  economically.  There  arose  a  school  of  philosophy, 
whose  central  theory  was  that  the  one  problem  which 
confronted  civilization  was  to  support  and  perpetuate 
the  race  with  the  least  possible  consumption  of  food 
and  the  other  necessaries  of  life. 

Edward  Atkinson  was  the  founder  of  this  school,  and 
he  invented  a  stove  which  he  fondly  expected  was  going 
to  usher  in  a  millennium  in  which  a  man  could  live 
upon  an  expenditure  of  not  exceeding  fourteen  cents  a 
day.  Just  what  all  the  great  factories  and  the  stupen 
dous  mechanical  plant  of  the  country,  with  its  almost 
limitless  capacity  of  production,  would  do  when  all  the 
able-bodied  men  in  the  country  each  spent  fourteen 
cents  a  day,  Mr.  Atkinson  did  not  figure  out,  and  ho 
had  the  reputation  of  being  one- of  the  greatest  statis 
ticians  in  the  world. 

People  were  told  day  after  day  and  year  after  year 
to  save  money,  and  after  going  through  two  or  three 
panics  a  great  many  of  them  took  the  advice.  Savings 
banks  became  popular;  building  and  loan  associations 
sprung  up  in  every  large  city;  safety  deposit  companies 
catered  to  the  general  demand  and  furnished  places  to 
hoard  money,  and  where  none  of  these  more  advanced 
safeguards  were  handy  the  simple  farmer  and  his  hired 
man  hid  away  the  treasured  doUars  in  trusty  old  yarn 
stockings. 

Note  what  followed  this  general  fad  for  economy, 
Note  how  the  people  were  rewarded  for  their  attempt 
to  usave  money." 

The  fame  of  the  coming  Columbian  Exposition  of 
Chicago  added  to  the  saving  propensities  of  the  people, 
and  several  million  wageworkers  began  to  save  up  from 
$20  to  $200  each  to  visit  the  great  show.  They  denied 
themselves  former  pleasures  and  theatrical  companies 
became  stranded.  The^  bought  fewer  fine  clothes  and 
adornments  and  the  sheriff  closed  out  some  dry-goods 
houses. 


86  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

They  stopped  the  daily  paper,  and  the  editor  set  up  a 
howl  about  hard  times  and  berated  the  idiots  who  were 
withholding  money  from  circulation. 

The  panic  came  and  the  wealthy  poor  withdrew  over 
$400,000,000  from  the  savings  banks  and  $200,000,000 
from  the  national  banks.  They  would  have  drawn  out 
more  had  not  most  of  the  banks  failed.  When  they  re 
gained  possession  of  this  money  a  great  many  adopted 
the  plan  of  tlje  farmer  and  his  hired  man,  and  millions 
of  dollars  reposed  in  the  carefully  hidden  but  ever  re 
liable  and  solvent  sock,  and  thus  did  the  wealthy 
poor  add  their  mite  to  the  "complex  situation." 

What  had  these  people  demonstrated  beyond  the  pos 
sibility  of  a  doubt? 

They  had  demonstrated  that  the  widespread  practice 
of  economy  by  the  people  under  the  prevailing  condi 
tions  meant  general  ruin. 

They  had  proven  that  the  man  who  saved  money  was 
an  enemy  to  his  country,  and  that  the  spendthrift  was 
a  political  economist  and  a  patriot.  That  the  more 
people  spent  the  more  they  would  have,  and  that  the 
less  they  spent  the  sooner  they  would  be  in  want. 

The  situation  was  certainly  "rendered  complex  be 
yond  anything  heretofore  known." 

Production  is  limited  by  consumption.  Consump 
tion  is  limited  by  wages.  Where  wages  are  hoarded 
consumption  decreases  and  production  is  curtailed. 
When  production  is  curtailed  the  wage  fund  decreases. 

Under  the  "complex  situation"  which  prevailed  in 
1893  and  the  years  preceding  it  the  wageworkers  best 
conserved  their  interests  by  spending  every  dollar  in 
their  possession  and  putting  their  trust  in  Providence. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    UNITED    STATES    SENATE   IN     1893. 

FIVE  millions  of  men  were  idle  in  the  United  States 
on  the  day  that  Congress  met  in  Washington  to  solve 
the  problems  which  were  confronting  the  nation.  The 
Columbian  Exposition  of  Chicago  was  in  all  its  glory. 
No  words  can  paint  the  splendor  of  that  great  white 
city.  It  was  a  superb  realization  of  the  dream  of  the 
poet,  and  the  world  stood  entranced  in  the  court  of 
honor,  speechless  and  awe  stricken  in  the  presence  of 
art  and  architecture  surpassing  that  of  ancient  Greece 
or  Rome.  The  Columbian  Exposition  was  the  crowning 
triumph  of  forty  centuries  of  civilization.  It  may  ap 
pear  like  sacrilege  to  mention  figures,  but  the  Colum 
bian  Exposition  represented  an  expenditure  of  about 
$22,000,000.  With  this  sum  a  marsh  had  been  reclaimed, 
lagoons  excavated,  the  architectural  genius  of  the 
country  invoked,  the  spacious  grounds  beautified,  and 
hundreds  of  palatial  buildings  erected  and  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  the  Columbian  celebration.  It  surpassed 
with  a  bound  the  past,  and  the  future  may  never  reach 
to  its  sublime  heights. 

The  5,000,000  id  la  men  whose  eyes  were  fixed  on 
Congress  could  have  reproduced  the  Columbian  Exposi 
tion  by  the  work  of  two  daysl  The  wasted  energies  of 
these  5,000,000  men  to  whom  work  was  denied  could 
in  two  working  days  have  delved  the  iron  from  the 
ground,  hewed  the  timber  from  the  forests,  fashioned 
the  steel  at  the  forge,  and  shaped  the  lumber  in  the 
mills;  they  could  have  reclaimed  the  marsh  and  beau 
tified  it,and  in  all  its  unspeakable  beauty  and  splendor 
could  have  built  three  Columbian  Expositions  in  a  week 
and  taken  a  Saturday  half-holiday  1 

87 


PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

This  was  termed  political  economy  in  1893.  Congress 
met  and  the  Senate  spent  three  months  in  discussing  a 
rule  which  decreed  that  the  majority  had  no  right  which 
the  minority  was  bound  to  respect.  This, dear  children, 
was  termed  representative  government  in  1893. 

The  majority  had  not  attempted  to  do  anything  des 
perate  or  revolutionary.  Something  had  to  be  done  to 
"restore  confidence,"  and  President  Cleveland  wrote  a 
message  calling  for  a  repeal  of  the  silver  bill  and  con 
vening  Congress  in  special  session. 

There  then  ensued  the  most  revolting  farce  ever  en 
acted  under  the  guise  of  representative  legislation. 

It  was  nothing  more  than  could  have  been  expected 
from  a  body  constituted  as  was  the  Senate,  but  it  was 
so  insulting  a  disregard  and  contempt  for  the  principle 
of  self-government  that  even  the  apathetic  freeman  of 
America  aroused  from  his  stupor  and  actually  hissed 
that  venerated  institution,  the  United  States  Senate. 
It  had  long  been  known  that  the  Senate  was  a  rich 
man's  club,  and  it  came  to  be  understood  that  one  of 
the  perquisites  of  a  state  legislator  was  the  money  paid 
him  by  rival  candidates  for  senatorial  honors.  There 
were  a  few  honorable  exceptions.  The  Senate  repre 
sented  nothing  but  itself,  and  up  to  this  time  had  been 
a  quiet,  complecant  body  of  men  who  had  been  tole 
rated  for  the  reason  that  the  members  had  seldom  ex 
ercised  their  power  to  resist  legislation  imperatively 
demanded  by  the  people. 

Five  million  half-starved  men,  many  of  them  the 
sole  support  of  families,  were  waiting  for  the  majority 
of  the  United  States  Senate  to  pass  a  measure  which 
had  been  indorsed  by  75  per  cent  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States. 

At  the  end  of  the  tenth  week  of 'the  revolting  farce  a 
man  arose  in  the  gallery.  He  was  a  plain  American 
citizen,  dressed  in  gray  tweed.  History  does  not  give 
his  nama,  but  it  is  a  pleasure  to  record  his  nationality 
and  his  contempt.  The  gallery  had  been  guilty  of  ap 
plauding  Senator  Hill  for  making  the  statement  that 
the  majority  should  rule.  Vice-President  Stevenson 


THE    UNITED    STATES    SENATE   IN    1893  89 

threatened  to  clear  the  galleries.  It  was  then  that  this 
plain  American  citizen,  probably  one  of  those  to  whom 
work  had  been  denied,  arose  from  his  seat.  He  was  a 
large,  broad-shouldered  man  with  a  heavy  voice.  He 
looked  down  on  that  collection  of  aged  idiots  with  im 
measurable  contempt  and  said: 

"As  one  of  the  common  people,  Mr.  President,  who 
has  sat  here  six  weeks,  I  will  leave  the  gallery  now." 

His  voice  rang  through  the  hall  like  a  warning.  It 
was  as  if  the  spirit  of  the  American  people  had  sud 
denly  taken  part  in  the  affairs  of  legislation.  The 
senators  shrank  back  in  their  chairs,  half  expecting  a 
dynamite  bomb.  The  American  citizen  turned  his  back 
upon  them  and  coolly  left  the  building. 

For  the  first  time  a  new  light  appeared.  For  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country  men  of  high 
standing  in  the  community,editors,  lawyers  and  brainy 
business  men,  perceived  that  there  was  something 
wrong,  but  none  was  bold  or  broad  enough  to  tell  the 
truth — viz.,  that  the  crime  which  was  being  commit 
ted — the  suppression  of  majority  rule — was  authorized 
by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  that  in 
no  section  or  clause  of  that  document  was  the  principle 
of  majority  rule  enunciated  or  its  rights  conserved. 
They  confined  their  denunciations  to  the  Senate  and 
its  stupid  rules.  The  rules  were  stupid,  but  not  half  so 
stupid  or  unrepresentative  as  that  section  of  the  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  which  created  the  Senate 
itself.  Here  is  the  way  some  of  the  great  editors  wrote 
about  the  United  States  Senate  crime  of  1893: 

Baltimore  Sun  (Dem.):  "It  is  clear,  as  clear  as  the 
noonday  sun,  that  no  government  can  be  carried  on, no 
government  is  possible,  upon  the  principles  professed 
by  Teller  and  practiced  by  Dubois. " 

Galvestou  News  (Dem.):  "Unless  majorities  can 
rule,  rules  or  no  rules,  in  this  country  our  form  of 
government  is  a  failure.  The  Senate  should  be  quar 
antined  against  so  that  its  anarchy  can't  spread." 

Indianapolis  Journal  (Rep. ):  "The  adoption  of  clos 
ure  in  the  Senate  should  be  made  a  test  question  in  all 


90  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

future  senatorial  elections  until  the  end  is  accomplished 
The  people  should  not  stop  until  the  principle  of  ma 
jority  rule  is  immutably  established." 

Kansas  City  Star  (Ind.):  "If  even  after  a  hundred 
years  of  trial  and  amendment  any  feature  of  our  gov 
ernmental  system  is  found  to  work  hardship,  to  be  in 
effect  an  absurdity,  then  it  should  be  changed.  No 
lapse  of  time  should  be  allowed  to  sanctify  foolishness. 
If  in  a  legislative  body  it  is  discovered  that  a  minority 
amounting  to  only  one-fifth  can  nullify  the  action  of  a 
majority  amounting  to  four-fifths,  then  a  change  should 
be  made,  no  matter  how  long  the  injustice  and  stupid 
ity  of  minority  rule  may  have  been  perpetuated." 

A  Chicago  paper:  "Hang  traditions!  Let  Demo 
crats  act  like  men  who  know  what  ought  to  be  done 
under  existing  circumstances,  and  not  like  boys  guided 
by  traditions  of  what  their  grandfathers  did  under  en 
tirely  different  circumstances  and  conditions.  The 
people  don't  care  a  copper  for  traditions.  What 
they  want  is  rational  action,  and  if  they  can't  get  it 
from  Democratic  representatives  they  will  get  it  from 
somebody  else." 

Another  Chicago  paper:  "The  absolute  tyranny  of 
habit  and  of  precedent  never  was  shown  more  strongly 
than  in  the  case  of  these  senators.  The  chains  which 
bind  them  are  mere  cobwebs,  and  yet  they  say  they 
cannot  break  them.  Evidently  there  is  nothing  left 
for  the  people  but  to  refuse  to  re-elect  each  of  these 
senile  senators  when  his  term  expires  and  to  put  in 
his  place  a  man  who  will  pledge  himself  to  reform  the 
rules  of  the  Senate  so  that  the  majority  can  rule  and 
legislation  be  possible  again.  This  will  be  a  slow  proc 
ess,  but  it  will  be  a  sure  one." 

The  Washington  correspondents  were  even  more 
radical  in  their  denunciation  of  the  Senate  than  were 
the  editors.  A.  H.  Lewis  of  the  Chicago  'Times,  a 
gifted  newspaper  writer,  struck  some  telling  blows  for 
the  rights  of  the  majority  in  the  following  vigorous 
language: 

"Qn©  might  wonder  what  Washington  would  think 


THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE  IN  1893  91 

of  these  people,  and  how  if  the  dead  gentleman  at 
Mount  Vernon  were  to  stroll  in  and  ask  for  the  per 
sonal  history  of  these  Senate  do-nothings,  what  thrilling 
information  he  would  reach.  There's  Papa  Stewart, 
aforetime  the  central  figure  of  the  Emma  mine 
swindle,  who  roped  in  Minister  Schenk  of  the  long  ago. 
In  the  present  pantomime  of  legislation  Papa  Stewart, 
the  Emma  miner,  has  the  role  of  Pantaloon  and  gets 
in  everybody's  way  maliciously,  and  tips  over  every 
thing  malevolently,  and  trots  about  from  one  gay  vil 
lainy  to  the  other  with  the  usual  string  of  some  other 
fellow's  sausages  hanging  from  his  pocket.  There's 
Mitchell  of  Oregon,  whose  real  name  is  Hippie — but 
it  all  go.  It's  too  late.  They  are  all  senators  now 
regularly  sworn  and  qualified  to  assassinate  the  coun- 
try's  welfare  and  hold  up  a  nation  in  its  onward  march 
as  some  masked  cutthroats  might  hold  up  a  stage  with 
their  Winchesters.  Of  course,  being  senators,  these 
men  are  all  grown  very  respectable  and  pure,  and  one 
must  not  dream  nor  even  think,  much  less  say,  that 
the  Senate  itself  is  aught  but  a  well-spring  of  public 
good  and  the  climax  of  public  blessing.  Well,  well, 
well;  call  it  a  green  tree  and  a  fountain.  Maybe  it  is. 
But  it  performs  like  a  gang  of  horse  thieves. 

*  The  great  grandchildren  of  the  present  Senate  a 
century  from  now  will  still  be  blowing  in  the  doubloons 
which  their  progenitors  grabbed  off  in  the  rise  and  fall 
of  stocks  occurring  from  the  present  Senate  antics  in 
the  fight  over  the  Wilson  bill  now  raging. 

"It  has  occurred  to  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  will  occur  to 
the  American  people  when  they  bend  a  thoughtful 
brow  to  its  consideration, that  there  is  neither  common 
justice  nor  public  sense  in  allowing  five  men  to  abso 
lutely  withstand  the  entire  Senate  in  its  rights  and 
duties.  It  is  a  Senate's  duty  to  vote.  It  has  no  right 
tc  refuse  or  fail  to  vote.  It  has  no  more  constitutional 
business  to  pass  rules  which  will  block  and  obstruct 
and  thwart  the  purpose  of  the  Senate's  construction 
than  it  has  to  commit  suicide.  The  vanity  of  these 
gray  old  morrice  dancers  of  legislation  has  led  it  to 


92  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMlfM 

put  into  every  senator's  possession  the  power  to  poison 
public  interest  by  a  dose  of  filibuster.  But  it  was 
wrong,  illegal,  and  without  the  law  to  do  it.  The  public 
would  indeed  be  the  idiot  which  some  men  deem  it,  if 
it  sat  quietly  at  its  own  assassination  by  less  than  a 
half-dozen  senatorial  criminals  simply  because  this 
paresis  club  we  call  the  Senate,  in  its  vainglorious 
drivelings  and  rnaunderings,  had  assumed  in  those 
paragraphed  and  numbered  imbecilities  it  calls  its 
rules  to  endow  this  quintet  of  rnalefactors,the  murder 
ous  power  so  to  do.  No  such  power  can  be  conferred. 
The  right  of  the  country  to  preserve  itself,  the  right  of 
the  majority  to  rule,  the  right  of  the  dog  to  wag  the 
tail,  are  any  of  them  a  sufficient  reply." 

Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  the  average  voter  of  the 
United  States  had  firmly  believed  that  the  distinctive 
feature  of  the  government  was  majority  rule. 

He  had  been  told  so  over  and  over  again  by  campaign 
orators  and  professional  patriots  who  rang  the  changes 
upon  a  "government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and 
by  the  people." 

For  the  first  time  in  American  history  the  fact 
dawned  upon  some  thoughtful  persons  that  the  ma 
jority  was  powerless  to  express  itself.  The  cool  insult 
ing  contempt  of  the  millionaire's  Senate  had  brushed 
the  cobwebs  from  their  eyes  and  one  monstrous  wrong 
stood  clearly  revealed.  The  Senate  idol  was  badly 
cracked,  but  not  shattered.  But  even  then  they  fondly 
hugged  to  their  breasts  the  sweet  delusion  that  the  gov 
ernment  was  all  that  the  Fourth  of  July  orator  had 
claimed  for  it,  and  that  the  Senate  was  the  only 
offender,  and  that  its  offense  consisted  in  setting  aside 
the  verdict  of  the  majority. 

Thomas  Cooley,  who  has  declared  himself  authority 
on  all  questions  regarding  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  author  of  a  book  on  constitu 
tional  limitations,  made  this  statement  when  asked  for 
an  opinion  concerning  the  alleged  subversion  of  the 
constitution  by  the  Senate: 

"It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  representative  gov- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE  IN  1893        93 

eminent  that  the  majority  shall  rule.  For  a  majority 
of  the  Senate  to  concede  for  any  reason  that  a  rule  of 
practice  in  debate  or  of  senatorial  courtesy  makes  it 
possible  for  a  minority  to  prevent  legislation  by  indef 
initely  protracting  debate  is  equal  to  revolution.  It  is 
as  much  revolution  as  though  accomplished  with  arms 
and  violence." 

Mr.  Cooley  could  not  have  been  referring  to  the 
United  States  or  its  constitution  when  he  spoke  of  ua 
fundamental  principle  of  representative  government 
that  the  majority  shall  rule."  He  knew  perfectly  well 
that  the  constitution  contemplated  nothing  of  the  kind. 

Mr.  Cooley  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  election  of 
Mr.  Harrison  in  1888  over  Mr. Cleveland  by  a  minority 
vote  was  constitutional  and  legal  and  that  it  was  a  de 
feat  for  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Cooley  knew  perfectly  well  that  in  1890  people 
of  the  United  States  by  a  majority  of  1,500,000  repudi 
ated  the  McKinley  bill,  and  that  the  Senate  under  the 
power  vested  in  it  by  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  perpetuated  that  bill  on.  the  statute-books  of  the 
country  against  the  votes  and  wishes  of  the  majority  of 
the  people. 

Mr.  Cooley  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  spirit  of  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States  had  been  incorporated 
ID  municipal  governments,  under  which  the  rights  of 
the  people  were  bartered  at  the  highest  market  price, 
public  streets  and  franchises  sold  to  private  corpora 
tions  against  the  helpless  protest  of  an  overwhelming 
majority  of  the  people. 

When  Mr.  Cooley  said  that  "it  is  a  fundamental 
principle  of  representative  government  that  the  major 
ity  shall  rule"  he  was  partially  right,  but  if  he  im 
agined  that  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
guaranteed  such  a  government  or  that  such  a  govern 
ment  had  been  evolved  from  it  he  was  mentally  in 
Egyptian  darkness. 

The  closing  days  of  October,  1893,  found  5,000,000 
men  still  out  of  work,  and  the  United  States  Senate 
yet  in  session.  The  Columbian  Exposition,  the  crown- 


94  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

ing  triumph  of  the  mechanical  age,  went  out  in  a  blaze 
of  glory,  and  with  its  close  50,000  men  and  women 
found  themselves  out  of  employment. 

And  Congress  was  still  in  session. 

The  Senate  was  finally  cowed  and  bought  by  Wall 
Street  into  passing  the  bill  repealing  the  Sherman 
silver  law.  Was  the  country  saved?  Did  5,000,000 
men  return  to  work  as  had  been  predicted?  Did  10,000 
factories  resume  operations? 

No.  Wheat  dropped  to  the  lowest  point  on  record. 
Robbery  became  epidemic  in  large  cities,  and  Chicago 
was  forced  to  declare  a  condition  approaching  martial 
law  to  protect  its  citizens. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HARD   TIMES. 

THE  panic  of  July  and  August  was  past,  and  the  win 
ter  of  1893-94  set  in  with  the  people  in  the  agonies  of 
an  unprecedented  business  and  industrial  depression. 
In  the  great  cities  of  the  country  idle  workmen  paraded 
the  streets  by  thousands  until  the  demonstrations  be 
came  so  threatening  that  the  authorities  felt  compelled 
in  self-defense  to  suppress  them.  No  language  can  pict 
ure  the  sufferings  of  the  people.  The  distress  was  by 
no  means  confined  to  the  large  cities.  In  the  smaller 
towns  the  factories,  which  were  the  main  support  of 
the  working  population,  were  shut  down.  Public  chari 
ties  were  swamped  by  applications  for  aid.  The  pages 
of  the  daily  papers  were  filled  with  horrors  such  as  the 
vivid  imagination  of  Victor  Hugo  could  not  conjure 
up;  recitals  of  murders,  robberies,  suicides,  embezzle 
ments,  starvation  of  innocent  children,  wholesale 
pauperism. 

The  daily  paper  was  a  daily  report  of  crimes.  A 
curse  seemed  resting  upon  the  people.  The  man  with 
employment  was  regarded  as  being  specially  favored, 
and  wistful  eyes  were  turned  to  the  workshops  where  a 
few  lucky  mortals  were  yet  permitted  to  earn  a  living. 

In  October  there  were  in  Chicago  by  actual  enumera 
tion  over  135,000  men  out  of  work  in  the  great  factor 
ies  alone.  Concerns  which  formerly  employed  5,000  and 
6,000  men  had  reduced  their  forces  to  300  or  400,  and 
others  were  entirely  suspended.  Of  the  120,000  men 
engaged  in  the  building  trades  not  more  than  one-third 
were  at  work.  Retail  stores  and  small  shops,  which  in 

95 


96  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

good  times  had  scores  of  clerks,  reduced  their  forces  to 
the  lowest  possible  limit,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  of 
this  class  15,000  were  idle.  How  this  vast  army  of  idle 
subsisted  is  a  mystery.  The  papers  of  Chicago  and  of 
other  cities  did  splendid  charity  work,  and,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  told  the  exact  truth  about  the  situation. 
A  committee  of  Chicago  business  men  attempted  to 
raise  money  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  work,  and 
did  collect  $300,000,  but  this  amount  could  not  go  far 
toward  the  support  of  200,000  idle  men,  many  of  whom 
were  the  heads  of  families.  The  drainage  canal  com 
missioners  were  appealed  to  and  found  place  for  nearly 
2,000  former  artisans  and  clerks,  who  were  happy  to 
dig  dirt  in  company  with  imported  Italians  and  Poles. 
The  work  was  severe,  and  some  of  these  unfortunates 
were  not  able  to  stand  the  strain,  and  their  surrender 
was  witnessed  with  glee  by  certain  human  hyenas,  who 
would  be  convulsed  with  merriment  at  a  railroad  hor 
ror. 

The  wealthy  people  of  America,  as  a  class,  were  more 
than  usually  generous  as  cold  weather  approached. 
The  lie  that  had  so  many  times  before  been  told  and 
believed — that  there  was  plenty  of  work  for  any  man 
who  wanted  it — had  gone  out  of  date.  There  was  no- 
work.  The  workman  knew  it;  the  business  man  knew  k 
1  it;  the  manufacturer  knew  it  and  regretted  it, and  even 
the  professional  hater  of  workmen  was  compelled  to 
remain  silent. 

And  this  was  in  Chicago,at  whose  feet  the  world  had 
poured  a  sum  of  money  estimated  at  not  less  than 
$150,000,000,  the  cost  of  their  attendance  at  the  great 
exposition. 

The  banks  were  bursting  with  money,  but  the  shops 
remained  closed.  The  manufacturer  did  not  want 
borrowed  money;  he  wanted  customers  who  had  money, 
and  his  customers  were  out  of  work  and  out  of  money. 
The  rich  must  eat  up  the  surplus  and  the  poor  must 
accept  what  the  rich  and  municipal  charities  afforded 
them. 

The  complacency  with  which  some  well-fed  and  good- 


HARD  TIMES  9? 

natnred  persons  contemplated  the  sufferings  of  others 
in  the  year  of  the  Columbian  Exposition  is  illustrated 
by  the  following  editorial  clipping  from  the  Chicago 
Tribune.  The  writer  was  musing  over  the  existing  con 
dition  and  prospects  of  the  150,000  unemployed.  Thus 
he  wrote: 

"Some  are  on  the  drainage  channel.     Others  have 
found  something  to  do  owing   to  the  extra  demand  for 
labor  occasioned  by  the  World's  Fair.     Manufacturers 
who  shut  down  during  the  panic  have  taken  back  a  part 
of  their  men — as  many  as  the  market  for  their  products 
would  justify — and  they  will  go  ahead  manufacturing 
as  long  as  they  can  find  a  market.     During  the  rest-  of 
this  month  there  will    be   no   lack   of   employment  in 
Chicago.     The  pinch  will  come  in  November  after  the 
closing  of  the  exposition       Then    the   street   railroad 
companies  will  cut  down  the  number  of  men.  Merchants 
will  discharge  the  superfluous  clerks.   Many  of  the  hotels 
will  be  closed,  and  not  one  of  them  will  need  the  large 
force  it  does  now.     There   will    be  a  general  retrench 
ment  after  the  World's  Fair   guests   have  gone,  which 
will  make  work  hard  to  find  during  the  winter  months. 
But  that  can  be  endured  providing  there  is  satisfactory 
assurance  of  good  times  in  the  spring.     If   the   condi 
tions  are  such  then    that   capitalists   feel    justified    in 
putting   up   new    buildings,    that    manufacturers    are 
reasonably  confident  they  can  find  a  market  for  their 
goods,  and  that  storekeepers   are   convinced   they  can 
sell  their  wares  and   get  paid  for  them,  there  will  be 
profitable  employment  for  all." 

A  cheering  prospect  certainly.  Any  wageworker 
who  would  protest  against  remaining  out  of  work  all 
winter  and  subsisting  on  charity,  when  there  was  a 
possibility  that  the  capitalists  might  decide  to  put  up 
some  new  buildings  in  the  spring  and  thereby  give  him 
a  job,  was  certainly  an  enemy  to  society,  if  not  a  real 
anarchist.  Notice  the  off-hand  way  in  which  the  great 
editor  assures  his  readers,  "but  that  can  be  endured." 
He  knew  whereof  he  spoke.  He  knew  that  a  people 
long  used  to  hardships  lose  by  degrees  the  very  notions 


08  PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH 

of  liberty.  Thera  was  little  danger  to  be  apprehended 
from  this  hungry  multitude.  They  would  live  until 
spring  and  be  glad  to  compete  against  each  other  for 
such  work  as  the  condition  of  the  labor  market  afforded. 
In  the  meantime  they  might  sack  a  few  bread  shops, 
but  as  for  fighting — history  never  recorded  a  battle  or  a 
revolution  won  by  hungry  men. 

For  several  years  previous  to  that  of  the  panic  of 
1893  many  well-intentioned  and  amiable  citizens  be 
came  greatly  concerned  about  patriotism.  They  had 
observed  with  growing  alarm  that  the  rising  generation 
was  not  patriotic.  Unable  to  solve  this  strange  mani 
festation,  they  decided  to  propagate  the  spirit  of  patri 
otism  in  the  public  schools.  To  this  purpose  certain 
days  at  the  public  schools  were  devoted  to  the  teaching 
of  patriotism.  The  young  people  were  taught  to  believe 
that  theirs  was  the  greatest  country  on  the  face  of  the 
earth;  the  only  one  in  which  the  people  had  a  voice  in 
the  management  of  affairs,  and  other  glittering  gener 
alities  more  or  less  founded  on  fact.  It  must  be  ad 
mitted  that  this  manufactured  kindergarten  brand  of 
patriotiflin  was  a  very  inferior  article. 

What  was  the  matter  with  the  children  and  why  was 
it  necessary  to  cultivate  patriotism  as  a  house  plant? 

The  fact  was  that  there  was  nothing  in  contempora 
neous  history  or  happenings  to  make  them  patriotic. 
When  the  child  went  home  the  hard-working  father, 
fatigued  from  a  day's  severe  toil  and  harassed  by  the 
constant  fear  of  no  employment,  did  not  take  the  child 
on  his  knee  and  tell  of  the  glories  of  the  republic.  On 
the  contrary,  he  complained  of  his  lot,  cursed  certain 
politicians,  but  never  praised  anything.  To  his  be 
nighted  mind  there  was  nothing  to  praise.  Then  again 
there  were  no  political  idols,  no  giants  of  statesman 
ship  for  the  boy  to  worship.  General  Grant  was  a 
popular  hero  and  was  pointed  to  as  a  model,  but  it  was 
hard  to  enthuse  the  youthful  mind  by  reciting  the  ex 
ploits  of  Harrison,  Cleveland,  Hill,  Brice,  Gorman, 
Butler,  Peffer,  Vilas,  Stewart,  and  that  miscellaneous 
crop  of  alleged  statesmen  who  occupied  the  public  gaze 
in  that  period. 


The  Republican  orator's  workingman,  and  another  idea 
of  the  laborer. 


HARI»   TIMES  101 

There  was  DO  politics — nothing  but  a  blind  and 
ignorant  partisanship,  which  fooled  men,  but  made  no 
impress  on  the  truthful  mind  of  a  child  into  whose 
nature  prejudices  had  not  yet  been  planted.  The  ex 
periment  of  teaching  patriotism  in  the  schools  was  a 
failure.  Those  who  had  faith  in  such  artificial  patriot 
ism  could  not  perceive  the  truth  so  finely  expressed  by 
a  thinker  who  wrote: 

"Patriotism  is  a  blind  and  irrational  impulse  unless 
it  is  founded  on  a  knowledge  of  the  blessings  we  are 
called  on  to  secure  and  the  privileges  we  propose  to 
defend." 

They  would  probably  have  taken  exception  to  the 
forceful  statement  of  bluff  old  Johnson:  "Patriotism 
is  the  last  refuge  of  a  scoundrel." 

There  was  a  growing  clamor  for  the  suppression  of 
immigration.  To  this  cause  the  average  American- 
born  workman  ascribed  all  the  ills  under  which  he 
suffered.  He  claimed  that  the  foreign  workman  had 
underbid  him  in  the  labor  market  and  that  so  many  of 
them  had  come  to  the  country  that  there  was  not 
enough  work  to  go  around.  Work  was  the  god  which 
they  worshiped.  There  was  never  any  complaint  be 
cause  there  was  not  enough  food,  clothes  and  other 
necessities  of  life.  Every  one  admitted  that  there  were 
plenty  of  such  commodities,  but  what,  the  people 
wanted  was  "work. "  There  being  a  great  sufficiency 
of  everything  which  labor  produces  already  on  hand, 
there  was  no  work,  and  the  foreigners  received  the 
blame. 

The  United  States  was  then  supporting — more  or  Jess 
by  charity-— a  population  of  67,000,000  people.  The 
single  state  of  Texas  boasted  that  it  could  support  in 
luxury  150, 000, 000  people, and  there  was  no  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  intelligent  people  that  the  entire  country  had 
productivity  and  resources  equal  to  a  population  of 
500,000,000.  The  foreign  workman,  therefore,  was  not 
entirely  to  blame  for  the  prevailing  distress.  It  was 
popular,  however,  to  abuse  him,  and  some  of  the  most 
vindictive  know-nothings  voiced  their  hatred  of  the 


102       ,  'PRESIDENT   fOHN    SMITH 

foreigner  in  accent  and  dialect  so  complicated  that 
English-speaking  sympathizers  in  the  same  theory  had 
difficulty  in  understanding  them. 

These  were  but  a  few  of  the  signs  of  an  approaching 
"something"  to  the  keen  forecaster  whose  eyes  roamed 
over  the  political  heavens.  There  was  a  disposition  to 
coddle  and  confer  with  the  once  despised  trade  unions 
on  the  part  of  men  who  a  few  short  years  before  had 
denounced  all  such  organizations  as  un-American  and 
to  whom  a  "walking  delegate"  was  a  hated  and  con 
temptible  person. 

A  series  of  "economic  conferences"  were  held  in  the 
palatial  recital  hall  of  the  Chicago  Auditorium,  in 
which  speeches  were  made  by  such  distinguished  people 
as  Bankers  Lyman  Gage  and  Franklin  Head,  Ferd  W. 
Peck,  the  projector  and  largest  stockholder  in  the 
Auditorium,  and  many  other  wealthy  representatives 
of  Chicago's  capitalistic  world.  These  speeches  were 
responded  to  by  Mr.  Schilling  and  the  famous  Lucy 
Parsons,  Socialists  Thomas  J.  Morgan,  Aveling,  and 
various  champions  of  the  single  tax  and  other  theories 
of  social  and  political  economy.  There  was  little  in 
tolerance  among  these  great  captains  of  capital  and  in 
dustry  and  the  economic  conferences  were  productive 
of  a  better  understanding  all  around.  They  made  no 
impression,  however,  on  the  $15  a  week  clerk  who 
worked  in  Mr.  Gage's  bank,  who  yet  imagined  that  the 
socialists  were  planning  to  make  him  "divide  up"  the 
$75  he  had  saved  up  by  denying  himself  an  overin 
dulgence  in  neckties  and  russet  shoes. 

In  the  latter  months  of  the  year  an  epidemic  of  crime 
swept  over  the  country,  train  robbery  developed  into 
a  profession,  and  the  papers  were  filled  with  reports  of 
barbarous  lynchings  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Ex-President  Harrison  in  an  address  at  the  World's 
Fair,  Indiana  day,  called  attention  to  this  growing  dis 
regard  of  the  law  and  appealed  to  all  good  American 
citizens  to  stand  back  of  the  sheriffs  in  the  performance 
of  their  duties.  Out  in  Colorado  Governor  Waite  pro 
posed  to  secede  from  the  Union  and  was  ready  with 


HARD   TIMES  103 

150,000  western  miners  and  mine-owners  to  "wade  in 
blood  up  to  his  horse's  bridle."  In  Kansas  the  Re 
publican  militia  officers  were  relieved  and  the  state 
guard  reorganized  with  nothing  but  populists  in  the 
ranks,  an  ominous  incident,  and  one  unprecedented  in 
the  history  of  the  country. 

More  significant  than  anything  else  was  the  attitude 
of  the  farmer,  Proverbially  conservative,  the  farmer 
had  broken  away  from  old-party  allegiances  and  was  a 
radical  of  radicals.  He  was  ready  to  listen  to  any 
scheme  for  the  betterment  of  his  condition, and  seemed 
more  inclined  to  fight  than  anything  else.  Unsparing 
in  his  denunciation  of  the  "gold  bugs  of  Wall  Street," 
the  farmer  had  cut  loose  from  all  former  partisan  alli 
ances  and  refused  to  listen  either  to  the  voice  of  the 
professional  Republican  patriot  or  to  the  pleadings  of 
tha  constitutional  Democrat,  whose  panacea  for  all 
earthly  ills  was  a  retrenchment  in  the  expenses  of  the 
government.  The  farmer  was  satiated  with  patriotism 
and  had  lost  money  by  it,  and  had  become  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  governmental  extravagance  and  not 
retrenchment  was  the  need  of  the  hour. 

And  thus  in  the  parade  of  the  years,  1898,  with  its 
columns  badly  disorganized  and  its  band  playing  dis 
cordant  music,  passed  before  Time's  reviewing  stand 
and^  vanished  in  the  distance.  Congress  was  yet  in 
session. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  GREAT    BOOM    OF  1898. 

[Note  by  the  author. — The  reader  is  asked  to  imagine 
that  a  short  period  of  years  has  elapsed  between  the 
months  described  in  Chapter  VIII.  and  the  opening  of 
Chapter  IX.  If  singularly  gifted  with  imagination  he  may 
conjure  up  incidents  equaling  in  interest  to  the  lake-front 
demonstrations  of  the  starving  unemployed,  the  strange 
march  of  industrial  armies  across  the  mountains 
to  Washington,  the  arrest  of  an  American  citizen  who 
desired  to  petition  Congress  and  his  subsequent  im 
prisonment  for  the  crime  of  "getting  on  the  grass,"  the 
great  railroad  strike,  the  judicial  promulgation  of  the  edict 
that  American  workmen  cannot  quit  work  without  the 
consent  of  their  employers,  the  opening  of  the  sugar  bowl 
in  Congress,  and  other  events  strictly  in  accord  with  the 
spirit  of  American  institutions.  A  presidential  election  in 
1896  retires  the  Democracy  'from  power;  a  slight  boom  is 
followed  by  a  panic  and  a  succeeding  period  of  depression. 
The  thread  of  the  history  is  taken  up  in  the  spring  of  181)8.] 

THE  advent  of  the  spring  of  1898  brought  a  return  of 
better  times.  The  keen  edge  of  the  long  depression  had 
worn  off,  and  with  a  beaming  face  the  good  husband 
came  home  one  afternoon  -and  brought  the  glad  news 
that  the  shop  was  going  to  start  up  the  first  of  next 
week.  'How  they  had  managed  to  live  the  workman 
and  his  wife  could  hardly  explain.  They  were  lucky  in 
having  a  kind-hearted  landlord,  to  whom  they  owed 
many  months'  rent,  and  they  congratulated  themselves 
that  they  had  escaped  eviction — the  sad  lot  of  a  score 
of  their  neighbors.  One  of  the  boys  had  made  a  few 
pennies  selling  papers,  and  a  good  lady  had  called  once 
a  week,  and,  despite  the  protests  of  the  proud  and 
honest  workman,  had  left  groceries  and  on  three  oc 
casions  a  small  sum  of  money.  It  had  been  impossible 
to  send  the  children  to  school;  they  had  no  clothes  and 
no  money  with  which  to  purchase  books.  Some  days 

104 


THE  GREAT  BOOM  OP  1898  105 

the  family  had  suffered  from  the  cold,  and  all  were 
glad  when  the  sun  arose  high  in  the  southern  sky  and 
April  ushered  in  the  warmer  days.  And  now  the  fac 
tory  was  going  to  start  up.  John  told  Mary  all  about 
how  it  came  about,  and  the  good  woman  listened  with 
tears  in  her  eyes.  All  that  winter  there  had  been 
rumors  of  a  European  war,  and  hostilities  were  now 
considered  inevitable.  One  of  the  leading  foreign  powers 
had  placed  an  immense  order  with  the  firm  John 
worked  for,  and  the  men  were  sent  for  at  once. 

"And  they  say,"  said  John,  his  eyes  dancing  with 
joy,  "that  war  is  sure  to  come  and  that  when  it  does 
there  will  be  more  work  than  we  can  do.  We  may  have 
to  work  nights.  I  wish  they  would  declare  war  to 
morrow.  " 

"But  just  think,  John,"  said  Mary,  a  little  sadly, 
"just  think  of  all  the  men  that  will  be  killed  and  of 
all  the  poor  women  and  children  who  will  be  made  to 
suffer  all  the  rest  of  their  lives.  Think  of  the  homes 
that  will  be  broken  up  and  the  property  that  will  be 
destroyed.  War  is  an  awful  thing  and  when  I  hear  it 
talked  of  it  makes  ma  shudder." 

"Yes,  I  know  war  is  an  awful  thing,"  said  John, 
"but  it  makes  good  times  and  gives  the  people  work. 
The  boss  was  saying  the  other  day  that  the  best  thing 
that  could  happen  to  this  country  would  be  a  good  war 
which  would  kill  off  about  2, 000, 000  people  and  destroy 
a  lot  of  property.  He  said  that  would  make  the  best 
kind  of  times,  and  blamed  if  I  don't  think  he  was 
right." 

"It  seems  to  me,"  said  Mary,  thoughtfully,  "that 
something  must  be  wrong  when  nothing  short  of  war, 
with  its  wholesale  murders  and  crime's,  can  bring  about 
the  prosperity  of  the  people." 

"Women  never  did  and  probably  never  will  under 
stand  anything  about  politics,"  said  John  good-na 
turedly.  He  was  too  happy  to  philosophize  about  the 
horrors  of  war.  It  had  no  terrors  for  him  and  was  in 
deed  his  best  friend.  The  situation  was  exactly  aa 
John  had  stated  it.  France  and  Germany  seemed  on 


106  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

the  verge  of  another  conflict,  with  Russia  and  England 
sure  to  be  drawn  into  the  whirlpool  of  European  war. 
Active  preparations  were  being  made  on  every  hand  and 
the  United  States  was  already  being  drawn  upon  for 
supplies.  Hard  times  were  forgotten.  Stocks  bounded 
upward  and  grain  of  all  kinds  followed  suit  Factories 
resumed  work  and  in  many  instances  the  men  succeeded 
in  negotiating  for  an  increase  in  wages.  Money  was 
plenty  and  the  rates  of  interest  high.  It  was  discovered 
that  the  stock  of  manufactured  goods  had  run  low  and 
a  genuine  boom  set  in. 

Europe  placed  more  contracts  in  America,  and  as  the 
papers  dwelt  triumphantly  on  this  fact  the  excitement 
increased  until  the  country  resounded  with"  the  roar  of 
machinery.  The  demand  for  labor  increased  and  wages 
were  forced  higher.  New  enterprises  were  projected 
and  many  were  started.  Workmen  went  about  with 
happy  faces  and  the  panic  and  distress  of  1898-1896 
seemed  only  as  an  awful  nightmare  from  which  a  peo 
ple  had  awakened  to  the  grandest  prosperity  in  their 
history. 

Not  for  a  moment  were  old  conservative  business 
men  deceived  by  the  situation.  The  trusts  were  not 
carried  away  by  the  excitement.  They  were  in  a 
splendid  position  to  make  money  and  did  so,  but  they 
went  ahead  on  a  conservative  basis  and  kept  a  close 
watch  upon  the  market  and  a  steady  finger  upon  the 
pulse  of  the  consumer.  By  the  middle  of  July  it  be 
came  generally  known  that  there  would  be  no  war.  The 
empire  of  Germany  wanted  war  and  so  did  the  aristoc 
racy  and  bourgeoisie  of  France,  but  they  dared  not 
declare  war  against  each  other.  Back  of  Emperor 
William  and  his  battalions  was  the  portentous  shadow 
of  the  social  democracy  of  Germany,  ripe  for  revolution 
and  eager  for  war  to  be  declared.  More  potent  than 
the  republican  government  of  France  was  that  social 
ism  which  had  overlapped  the  walls  of  Paris,  and  found 
enthusiastic  adherents  among  the  peasantry  The  prol 
etariat  of  France  had  no  enmity  against  the  humble 
wage-earning  social  democrat  of  Germany,  and  was 


THE  GREAT  BOOM  OF  1898  107 

waiting  the  day — the  inevitable  day — when  the  revolu 
tion  should  be  declared.  That  was  why  France  and 
Germany  did  not  declare  war,  and  that  was  why  Octo 
ber  found  the  United  States  in  the  throes  of  another 
panic. 

There  was  great  disappointment  when  it  became  cer 
tain  that  war  was  to  be  averted,  but  it  had  no  immedi 
ate  appreciable  effect  upon  business.  Stocks  declined 
a  little  and  so  did  wheat.  The  people  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  these  slight  evidences.  They  had  come  to  regard 
themselves  as  authorities  on  good  and  bad  times,  on 
panics  and  business  revivals,  and  they  argued  that 
there  was  no  danger  of  a  panic  for  several  years 
anyway.  But  they  did  not  realize  the  changed  condi 
tions  which  came  into  effect  with  the  panic  of  1892-93 
and  were  totally  unprepared  for  what  was  in  store  for 
them. 

In  the  early  part  of  September  the  papers  announced 
that  several  of  the  factories  belonging  to  the  shoe  trust 
had  been  closed  for  "repairs."  A  few  days  later  the 
great  English  brewing  trust  closed  down  its  Cincinnati 
and  St.  Louis  houses.  There  was  an  increased  scarcity 
of  money  and  the  banks  raised  the  rates  of  interest. 
It  became  more  and  mores  difficult  to  borrow  money  on 
good  security.  September  27  the  press  announced  that 
owing  to  lack  of  demand  the  refineries  under  the  con 
trol  of  the  sugar  trust  would  be  shut  down  on  the  fol 
lowing  Saturday  until  further  notice;  also  that  the 
trust  had  declared  the  usual  2  per  cent  quarterly 
dividend.  Then  came  the  panic,  but  one  which  but 
little  resembled  its  predecessors.  Some  big  failures 
were  announced  of  firms  which  had  plunged  wildly  into 
the  market  under  the  guidance  of  inexperienced  man 
agers.  A  few  large  manufacturing  concerns  were 
caught  and  a  large  number  of  small  concerns  failed, 
which  had  branched  out  in  expectation  of  supplying 
all  of  fighting  Europe  with  the  sinews  of  war. 

There  were  the  usual  runs  on  national,  state  and  sav 
ings  banks,  but,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  banks 
did  not  fail.  They  had  money  for  all  who  came,  ancl 


108  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

the  people  soon  became  tired  of  drawing  their  money 
out  and  let  it  remain  in  the  banks.  Money  was  again 
plenty,  but  none  who  had  good  collateral  desired  to 
embark  in  new  enterprises  or  to  enlarge  old  ones.  All 
ever  the  country  shops  and  factories  were  either  shut 
down  -or  running  on  half-time.  Winter  was  approach 
ing.  What  was  the  cause  of  the  panic? 

It  was  called  a  panic,  but  the  word  was  a  misnomer. 
The  trouble  in  1893  was  termed  a  panic,  but  it  was 
simply  a  general  suspension  of  production,  more  espe 
cially  in  the  manufacturing  line.  The  remarkable 
feature  of  the  boom  and  panic  of  1898  was  the  wonder 
ful  rapidity  of  its  development.  The  short  interval  be 
tween  the  severe  depression  of  1898-1896  was  followed 
by  a  business  revival  and  quickly  succeeded  by  return 
ing  hard  times  and  an  even  more  intensified  depression. 
In  the  natural  course  of  events  the  patient  would  have 
remained  in  a  dormant  state  and  regained  strength  only 
after  a  Jong  period  of  convalescence.  Such  had  been 
the  history  of  the  past,  but  history  blindly  follows  no 
rule  prescribing  a  sequence  of  events.  The  political 
doctors  had  wisely  predicted  a  lingering  illness  and 
prescribed  various  nostrums  supposed  to  have  more  or 
less  value,  but  all  their  calculations  were  scattered  to 
the  winds  by  the  European  war-cloud. 

The  sound  of  the  preparations  for  war  came  to  the  ear 
of  the  fevered  patient.  It  was  like  water  to  a  parched 
throat, as  a  glass  of  brandy  to  a  famished  traveler.  The 
patient  sprang  from  the  sick  bed,  with  one  hand  brushed 
aside  the  astonished  political  doctors,and  with  the  other 
tipped  over  the  carefully  compounded  and  mysterious 
nostrums.  "War!  War!!"  Every  repetition  of  the 
word  made  the  blood  tingle.  The  invalid  had  becomo 
a  giant,  and  from  1,000  chimneys  the  smoke  wreathed, 
and  from  10,000  forges  came  the  music  of  industry. 

War!  War!  Blood!  Carnage!  Sweet  words  of  com 
fort  and  inspiration  to  a  Christian  nation.  Cut  loose 
the  bloodhounds,  and  let  Europe  run  red  with  rape 
and  rapine  that  men  an4  women  and  little  children 
may  live  in  America!. 


THE    GREAT    BOOM   OF    1898 

For  the  first  time  in  history  the  mechanical  age  had 
an  opportunity  to  test  its  capacity.  Not  at  any  time 
in  the  twenty  preceding  years  had  all  the  powers  of 
production  been  placed  in  operation.  There  had  been 
good  times  before,  but  not  such  times  as  these.  In 
good  and  bad  times  the  machine  had  been  developed, 
hut  not  until  now  was  it  possible  for  America  to  show 
the  world  her  wonderful  resources. 

It  was  a  superb  exhibition  of  material  greatness.  It 
was  as  if  a  big, strong,  but  indolent  and  good-for-nothing 
b  ,y,  whose  only  thought  in  life  had  been  to  subsist  by 
the  least  possible  exercise  of  his  muscles,  had  suddenly 
attained  manhood,  and  with  that  manhood  had  cast 
away  sloth  and  with  every  grand  faculty  of  nature 
awakened  into  life,  had  set  about  the  realization  of 
some  magnificent  ambition.  Thus  it  was  with  the 
United  States  of  America. 

Forty  million  willing  hands  manipulated  the  ma 
chinery  of  production  and  added  to  the  wealth  of  civili 
zation.  Forty  million  sturdy  arms  wrested  from  Mother 
Nature  those  blessings  which  she  so  gracefully  relin 
quishes  to  the  persistent  suitor.  A  nation  was  happy  and 
prosperous. 

But  why  do  the  wheels  of  industry  begin  to  slacken 
and  why  do  men  grow  pale? 

Ask  the  mill-owner.  He  will  tell  you.  There  has  been 
an  overproduction.  The  people  have  worked  so  hard  and 
accumulated  so  much  that  as  a  penalty  they  must  go 
hungry  and  perchance  some  of  them  will  starve  for 
their  folly. 

In  the  six  months  from  April  to  October,  1898,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  had  produced  more  than 
had  ever  before  been  recorded  for  a  year.  Some  of  it 
had  gone  abroad,  but  vast  stocks  of  supplies  remained 
at  home.  The  country  had  been  deceived. 

They  had  been  "confidenced"  into  manufacturing 
for  a  market  which  did  not  exist.  The  price  of  all 
commodities  fell,  but  the  people  had  little  money  with 
which  to  purchase  at  any  price.  With  their  wages  the 
people  had  paid  off  debt's  formerly  contracted,  and  but 


110  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

few  of  them  had  been  able  to  save  up  a  dollar  against 
that  "rainy  day"  now  acknowledged  to  be  inevitable 
but  for  which  it  seemed  impossible  to  prepare.  Millions 
of  workmen  were  discharged  from  the  great  factories. 

They  had  committed  a  crime.  They  had  created 
too  much  wealth..  They  had  worked  too  hard.  They 
must  be  punished  by  being  forced  into  idleness. 
In  1893  or  1894  the  workmen  of  America  were  capable 
of  producing  in  a  few  months  all  the  manufactured 
products  the  people  could  purchase  in  a  year.  The 
boom  caused  by  the  rumors  of  war  gave  the  workmen 
a  chance  to  give  the  world  a  practical  illustration 
cf  the  wonderful  resources  of  production.  They  then 
proceeded  to  starve  for  a  much  longer  period. 

In  the  fall  elections  the  Populists  refused  to  combine 
with  the  Democrats  and  made  decided  gains  and  car 
ried  states  and  congressional  districts  in  which  they 
were  not  supposed  to  have  the  slightest  chance  for 
success.  The  adherents  of  the  old  partes  were  surprised 
and  disgusted  when  it  was  learned  that  the  third  party 
held  the  balance  of  power  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  and  would  be  able  to  elect  three  new  United  States 
senators.  In  the  excitement  of  the  election  the  people 
forgot  their  sorrows  for  the  time  and  many  of  them 
saw  a  ray  of  hope  in  the  presaged  success  of  the  Peo 
ple's  party,  whose  leaders  now  confidently  claimed  that 
they  would  sweep  the  country  in  1900. 

The  increasing  strength  of  the  trade  union  movement 
in  the  United  States  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
entire  civilized  world.  Under  shrewd  leadership  they 
had  proceeded  on  strict  trade  union  lines  and  had  suc 
cessfully  avoided  the  political  and  other  entangling  al 
liances  which  so  many  times  before  had  been  the  rocks 
on  which  the  movement  went  to  pieces.  The  great 
boom  of  1898  had  greatly  strengthened  the  unions,  and 
their  success  in  obtaining  advanced  wages  had  brought 
hundreds  of  thousands  into  their  ranks.  The  panic 
fcund  these  organizations  in  exceptionally  fine  con 
dition,  with  money  in  their  treasuries  and  the  member 
ship  in  good  discipline.  Carefully  prepared  statistics 


THE  GREAT  BOOM  OF  1898  11] 

showed  that  fully  95  per  cent  of  all  the  men  employed 
in  manufacturing,  building  and  kindred  trades  were 
enrolled  in  the  various  unions,  With  hardly  an  excep 
tion,  the  unions  were  recognized  by  the  employers,  and 
wages  were  adjusted  without  difficulty,  all  disputes 
being  settled  by  arbitration.  In  a  word,  the  trade  unions 
had  obtained  the  position  which  the  founders  of  the 
movement  claimed  as  possible,  and  that  which  they  so 
earnestly  worked  for  and  had  predicted  for  years  had 
come  to  pass. 

Not  less  than  6,000,000  were  enrolled  under  the  ban 
ner  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,and  affiliated 
with  them  were  2, 000, 000  members  of  the  Farmers'Alli- 
ance  and  similar  organizations.  Numerically  the  trade 
union  movement  had  achieved  the  fondest  hopes  of  its 
projectors.  How  did  the  trade  unionist  and  his  proud 
organization  confront  the  situation  as  it  presented  it 
self  when  the  panic  of  1893  paralyzed  the  business  of 
the  country?  In  less  than  two  months  more  than  3,000.- 
000  members  of  trade  unions  were  out  of  work.  Even 
in  the  face  of  this  appalling  problem  the  ranks  remained 
fast.  The  president  issued  an  address  in  which  he  said: 

"Trade  unionism  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty. 
Our  splendid  organization  is  in  no  way  to  blame  for 
the  disaster  which  has  palsied  the  hand  of  industry, 
and  the  darkness  of  this  night  but  precedes  a  brighter 
day  when  panics  and  the  enforced  idleness  of  armies  of 
men  shall  live  only  as  a  memory.  In  the  hope  and  ex 
pectation  of  the  dawning  of  such  a  day  I  entreat  you 
to  stand  firm.  This  is  to  be  a  test  of  unselfishness. 
If  every  man  shall  do  his  duty,  his  whole  duty,  trade 
unionism  shall  live  and  to-morrow  shall  triumph.  The 
alternative  is  anarchy,  a  wild  struggle  for  life  in  which 
all  we  have  fought  for  shall  be  lost  to  us  forever." 

Nofsince  the  world  was  created  and  mankind  given 
authority  over  animate  and  inanimate  things  was  there 
witnessed  so  fine  an  illustration  of  unselfish  and  en 
nobling  discipline  as  that  displayed  in  1898  and  1899 
by  the  federated  trade  unions  of  America.  There  were 
a  few  weak  ones,  a  few  cowards  and  traitors,  but  the 


112  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

vast  majority  obeyed  the  common  orders  without  ques 
tion  and  without  hesitation.  There  was  on  January  1, 
1899, work  for  but  half  of  the  6,000,000  trade  unionists, 
and  as  the  winter  came  on  the  number  of  men  at  work 
steadily  decreased. 

In  December  a  special  convention  was  held.  The 
labor  leaders  met  in  solemn  session  and  discussed  the 
momentous  problem  which  confronted  them.  By  a 
practically  unanimous  vote  it  was  decided  that  the 
work,  or  the  wages  paid  for  work,  should  be  divided 
among  the  members.  The  various  unions  were  in 
structed  to  submit  to  their  employers  the  alternative 
of  accepting  one  of  two  propositions — either  that  a 
double  force  should  be  employed  half  time,  or  that  at 
the  end  of  a  month  the  men  then  working  should  be 
then  laid  off  and  a  new  force  substituted.  It  was  also 
provided  that  a  liberal  trade  union  assessment  should 
be  paid  into  the  treasury  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining 
certain  trades  in  which  work  was  almost  entirely  sus 
pended. 

This  heroic  remedy  was  grafted  into  a  resolution  and 
submitted  to  the  various  national  trade  unions,and  by 
them  indorsed  without  a  single  exception.  The  man 
ufacturers  met  the  men  half-way  and  in  many  cases 
offered  valuable  suggestions,  which  were  accepted  in 
good  spirit.  Wherever  practical  the  men  alternated  in 
working,  and  by  this  expedient  from  2,000,000  to  3,- 
000,000  men  with  their  families  were  constantly 
supported  in  idleness.  The  most  rigid  economy  was 
absolutely  necessary  and  nearly  one-third  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  existed  for  months  only  by  deny 
ing  themselves  everything  except  the  actual  necessities 
of  life. 

This  exhibition  greatly  pleased  certain  people  who 
imagined  themselves  political  economists.  They  read 
the  labor  people  long  lectures,  pointing  out  to  them 
the  fact  that  at  last  they  had  come  to  their  senses  and 
had  acted  as  they  should  have  years  ago.  The  advan 
tages  of  the  new  system  over  that  of  striking  were  lov 
ingly  dwelt  upon  and  the  labor  leaders  were  congratu 
lated  upon  their  generalship. 


THE   GREAT   BOOM   OF    1898  113 

The  average  well-to-do  citizen  saw  nothing  wrong  in 
the  situation.  He  viewed  it  with  the  same  complacency 
as  he  had  in  1873,  1884  and  1893.  That  the  govern 
ment,  or  the  state,  or  the  community,  was  in  any  way 
responsible;  that  it  was  under  the  slightest  obligation 
to  furnish  employment;  that  poverty  was  anything 
more  or  less  than  a  dispensation  of  Providence,  he  had 
never  imagined,  or,  in  fact,  considered  to  any  extent. 
Men  were  made  to  work — that  is,  most  men  were  made 
to  work.  Some  men  had  to  be  rich,  and  thus  were  able 
to  give  other  men  work.  If  there  were  no  rich  men 
there  could  be  no  employment.  The  employer  was  a 
great  benefactor  to  society,  and  society  was  under  ob 
ligations  to  employers  just  in  proportion  as  the  latter 
furnished  employment.  When  the  employers  were  un 
able,  from  the  condition  of  the  market  or  from  any 
other  causes,  to  employ  workmen — why,  that  was  the 
end  of  it.  Nobody  was  responsible.  It  was  the  duty 
of  employers  and  wealthy  people  to  be  liberal  at  suxih 
times,  and  any  attempt  to  excite  the  working  class,  or 
to  lead  them  to  rebel  against  what  was  clearly  inevita 
ble,  should  be  frowned  down,  and  if  necessary  sternly 
suppressed  by  the  law.  Work  was  ennobling  and  the 
American  workman  was  naturally  the  most  peaceable 
and  easiest  satisfied  of  any  in  the  world.  Foreigners 
had  no  conception  of  the  dignity  of  American  labor, 
and  if  they  did  not  like  things  as  they  found  them  in 
this  country  they  were  at  liberty  to  return  from  where 
they  came. 

The  preceding  chapters  have  described  the  sequence 
of  events  which  led  up  to  the  anarchist  conspiracy  of 
May  23,  1899,  with  which  this  history  opens  and  which 
Chief  Sullivan  and  his  officers  so  effectually  "nipped 
in  the  bud" — to  quote  the  language  of  the  new  reporter. 


CHAPTER  X. 

JOHN    SMITH,    NATIONALIST. 

JOHN  SMITH  was  born  in  Quincy,  Mass.,  September 
12,  1853. 

On  the  Smith  side  of  the  family  the  ancestry  can  be 
traced  "clear  back  to  old  Pocahontas  John  Smith,"  as 
his  good  Aunt  Maria  so  often  expressed  it.  To  tell  the 
truth,  John  never  took  the  trouble  to  look  the  matter 
up.  His  mother  was  a  Paine,  proud  of  the  revolution 
ary  blood  which  she  had  transmitted  to  her  son,  and 
the  good  lady  was  never  weary  of  dwelling  upon  the 
Paine  ancestral  tree. 

The  Smiths  were  well-to-do  people,  and  at  the  proper 
age  young  John  was  sent  to  Harvard  and  acquitted 
himself  with  honor  to  his  family  and  to  himself.  He 
completed  the  under-graduate  course  in  1872  and  re 
turned  home  in  time  to  witness  the  bankruptcy  of  the 
elder  Smith,  whose  entire  fortune  was  swept  away  in 
the  panic  of  the  following  year.  This  incident  changed 
the  whole  current  of  Smith's  life.  He  had  expected, as 
the  only  heir  to  the  Smith  estate,  to  go  into  business 
with  his  father,  and  eventually  come  into  possession  of 
the  property.  But  the  property  had  vanished.  Certain 
unfortunate  speculations,  the  advancing  of  large  sums 
of  money  to  some  promising  manufacturing  concerns, 
had  conspired  against  the  estate,  and  a  great  property 
was  dissipated. 

Denied  by  the  stern  mandate  of  circumstance  a  life 
of  comparative  ease  as  a  capitalise,  John  embraced  law 
as  a  profession  and  first  established  himself  in  Boston. 
Acting  on  the  advice  of  friends,  ne  moved  to  Chicago, 
formed  an  advantageous  partnership  and  rapidly  ac- 

114 


JOHN   BMITH,    NATIONALIST  115 

quired  reputation  and  standing  and  with  it  a  profitable 
clientage. 

John  ISrnith  had  ever  been  a  student  of  political 
economy.  His  education  had  made  him  a  free  trader, 
and  he  was  born  a  liberal.  There  was  no  taint  of 
Puritanism  in  his  veins,  and  no  one  ever  heard  him 
boast  of  his  ancestors.  He  was  proud  of  the  fact  that 
he  was  an  American,  but  his  Americanism  did  not  lead 
him  to  hate  foreigners  because  they  were  not  so  for 
tunate  as  to  have  been  born  in  America. 

John  Smith  was  an  American,  but  his  Americanism 
was  not  of  that  rabid,  hysterical  type  which  impels 
men  to  defend  and  praise  every  law,  tradition,  practice 
and  institution  upon  which  some  one  had  stamped  the 
trademark  "American."  Smith  preferred  to  pass  upon 
such  matters  himself.  To  his  mind  a  thing  was  right, 
just  or  proper  not  because  it  was  American,  but  because 
it  was  right,  just  or  proper.  He  could  conceive  of  how 
a  thing  could  be  American  and  yet  be  wrong. 

History  had  not  taught  him  that  Americans  were  a 
race  especially  inspired  of  God  and  so  constituted  as 
to  be  incapable  of  making  mistakes.  He  saw,  or  at 
least  he  imagined  he  saw,  where  the  Smiths  and  the 
Paines  who  lived  and  died  a  hundred  years  before  had 
made  some  blunders,  and  as  an  American  citizen  it 
was  not  only  his  right  but  his  duty  to  discuss  such 
matters,  and,  if  possible,  ascertain  and  apply  remedies. 
John  Smith  had  no  patience  with  certain  of  his  friends 
who  would  hold  up  their  hands  in  horror  at  his  decla 
ration  that  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
full  of  errors. 

"Have  you  no  veneration?"  exclaimed  Jones  one 
day. 

uNot  a  bit,"  responded  Smith.  u Veneration  is  a 
half-witted,  obsequious  brother  to  superstition,  and  I 
care  for  the  companionship  of  neither.  The  man  who 
is  afflicted  with  the  venerating  habit  goes  through  life 
in  a  graveyard,  poking  around  among  the  tombs,  hunt 
ing  for  antique  monuments  erected  to  the  memory  of 
the  dead  that  he  may  venerate  and  revere  them.  The 


116  PKESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

fact  that  a  thing  is  old  makes  me  suspicious  of  it.  I 
believe  in  the  present.  I  believe  that  the  people  who 
live  to-day  know  more  than  any  people  \*bich  have 
preceded  them.  Therefore  I  have  no  veneration  for 
the  past  and  study  it  only  to  avoid  mistakes.  Its  his 
tory  is  largely  a  story  of  wars,  of  cruel  and  revolting 
crimes,  and  a  ceaseless  tale  of  man's  'inhumanity  to 
man.'" 

The  city  of  Chicago  was  an  interesting  study  to  John 
Smith.  He  became  a  citizen  of  the  western  metropolis 
at  a  time  when  the  gigantic  forces  of  the  mechanical 
age  were  at  work  restoring  the  ravages  of  the  great  fire 
and  of  the  panic,  which  had  swept  through  the  young 
giant  of  cities.  He  became  a  part  of  that  seething 
center  of  modern  competition — Chicago.  He  entered 
the  lists  prepared  to  give  and  receive  blows,  with  his 
hand  raised  against  every  other  man.  At  this  time 
John  Smith  had  no  serious  complaint  to  make  against 
established  institutions.  He  was  young  and  strong 
and  a  firm  believer  in  the  justice  of  the  ''survival  of 
the  fittest."  He  believed,  and  often  said,  that  there 
was  room  for  all  in  the  United  States,  and  he  had  no 
patience  with  those  who  demanded  protection  or 
charity. 

Ten  years  brings  many  changes.  In  1885  John  Smith 
had  materially  modified  his  views  on  many  subjects. 
His  law  business  had  increased  and  so  had  his  income. 
So  had  his  contempt. 

For  ten  years  wealthy  clients  had  whispered  into  his 
ears  tales  of  wrong,  crime  and  cunning;  for  ten  years 
he  had  defended  men  against  legal  robbery  and  had 
aided  others  to  take  legal  advantage  of  their  competi 
tors. 

For  ten  years  he  had  been  buffeted  around  in  a 
frantic  mob,  until  his  ears  rang  with  the  cry  of 
"money,"  "money,"  and  his  very  nature  revolted 
against  the  knavery,  plotting  and  swindling  which 
passed  current  as  commercial  honesty.  He  became 
convinced  that  any  social  system  based  on  the  principle 
which  then  prevailed  was  destined  sooner  or  later  to 


JOHN    SMITH,    NATIONALIST  117 

fail.  John  Smith  then  decided  to  make  a  systematic 
study  of  the  situation  and  form  conclusions  based  on 
his  own  observations.  He  had  abundant  opportunity 
for  such  a  study  and  for  years  quietly  pursued  a  philo 
sophic  investigation  of  the  business, social  and  political 
phases  of  the  civilization  in  which  he  was  living  and 
of  which  he  was  a  part.  He  subscribed  to  no  creed 
and  was  the  adherent  of  no  ism.  He  read  all  there 
was  obtainable  concerning  socialism,  anarchy,  the 
single  tax  theory  and  other  schools  of  -political  and 
economic  thought,  arid  dispassionately  weighed  and 
considered  their  respective  merits  and  shortcomings. 
He  was  unable  to  classify  himself  under  any  of  the 
recognized  schools  of  thought,  and  in  fact  did  not  de 
sire  to  do  so.  John  Smith  could  see  no  reason  why  a 
man  should  blindly  follow  the  tenets  of  any  school, 
and  therefore  continued  his  study  of  social  phenomena 
unrestrained  by  any  dogmatic  bounds.  Among  the  few 
personal  friends  with  whom  Smith  discussed  such 
problems  he  was  regarded  as  a  sort  of  mild  crank  with 
socialistic  tendencies. 

"I  have  discovered  what  you  are,"  said  Jones  one 
day,  seated  in  John  Smith's  private  office. 

"Good.  Allow  me  to  congratulate  you, "  rejoined 
Smith  with  a  suspicion  of  sarcasm, 

"No  offense  intended,  John,  I  assure  you,"  Jones 
hastened  to  explain.  "I  was  referring  to  your  peculiar 
theories  about  government,  labor  and  all  that.  Well, 
I  was  reading  to-day  that  they  have  formed  a  club  or  a 
society  in  Boston  and  the  members  called  themselves 
Nationalists.  I  didn't  read  the  whole  article,  but  went 
far  enough  to  learn  that  they  desire  to  nationalize  cer 
tain  industries  They  say  that  the  word  socialism 
doesn't  mean  any  tiling,  and  that  the  fools  who  discuss 
such  questions  have  ascribed  every  crime  and  idiocy  on 
the  calendar  to  socialism,  and  forever  ruined  whatever 
utility  the  word  did  have.  From  what  I  could  make 
out  of  the  article,  their  platform  tallies  very  close  to 
your  ideas  as  you  have  explained  them  to  me." 

"Then  you  have  decided  that  I  am   a  nationalist?" 


118"  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

said  Smith  with  a  smile.  "It  is  a  good  word  and  an 
expressive  one.  If  nationalism  implies  an  abiding 
faith  in  good  government;  if  nationalism  believes  that 
there  are  certain  functions  that  the  whole  people — the 
government — can  do  better  than  any  faction  or  part 
of  the  people;  if  nationalism  subscribes  cheerfully  to 
the  rule  of  the  majority  with  a  proper  respect  for  the 
rights  of  the  minority,  then  I  am  a  nationalist.  It  is 
a  matter  of  little  consequence.  A  name  signifies  little 
What  are  you,  Jones?" 

"Blamed  if  I  know.  I  was  a  Democrat  six  months 
ago,  but  I  am  so  disgusted  with  the  Democratic  Senate 
and  the  ranting  of  a  lot  of  those  southern  brigadiers 
that  I  have  a  good  mind  to  read  myself  out  of  the 
party.  Trouble  is,  there  is  no  place  for  me  to  go.  The 
Republicans  are  owned  by  a  lot  of  manufacturers,  and 
as  for  the  Populists — well,  I  should  like  to  see  myself 
training  around  with  those  fellows.  Don't  believe  I'll 
vote  any  more.  It  does  no  good  so  far  as  I  can  see. 
Think  I  will  investigate  this,  this  Nationalist  idea.  I 
may  find  that  I  am  a  Nationalist;  who  knows?" 

And  that  was  how  John  Smith,  lawyer  and  man  of 
property,  became  known  among  his  personal  acquaint 
ances  as  the  Nationalist,  and  a  newspaper  friend  wrote 
a  sketch  about  it  and  headed  it  "John  Smith — Nation 
alist. "  Popular  among  his  fellows  and  in  the  business 
world,  Smith  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  a 
judgeship  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  He 
served  with  marked  ability  a  term  as  judge  and  de 
clined  a  nomination  in  1898,  which  would  have  been 
equivalent  to  an  election.  Judge  Smith's  letter  to  the 
campaign  committee  declining  the  nomination  created 
a  widespread  sensation  and  was  unsparingly  criticised 
and  denounced  by  many  of  the  leading  newspapers. 
In  this  letter  Judge  Smith  said: 

"An  explanation  is  due  the  many  friends,  political, 
social  and  personal,  who  have  so  loyally  supported  me 
in  the  past  and  who  have  so  kindly  urged  me  to  seek  a 
continuance  of  judicial  honors.  In  justice  to  them  and 
in  justice  to  myself  I  must  firmly  and  unreservedly  de- 


JOHN    SMITH,    NATIONALIST  119 

cline  to  accept  a  position,  the  oath  of  office  of  which 
imposes  obligations  repugnant  to  my  sense  of  justice, 
fairness  and  honor.  I  am  not  in  sympathy  with  cer 
tain  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  I  am  unalterably  opposed  to  many  of  the  laws 
incorporated  in  the  federal,  state  and  municipal  codes, 
and  submit  to  their  exactions  only  under  earnest  pro 
test.  Believing  as  I  do  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  judicial 
officer  to  construe  the  laws  as  he  finds  them,  having 
ever  been  an  earnest,  and,  I  hope,  a  consistent  advocate 
of  the  absolute  divorcement  of  the  judiciary  and  the, 
executive,  I  shall  no  longer  seek  to  maintain  myself  in 
a  position  where  I  am  compelled  by  my  oath  of  office 
to  dispense  injustice  under  the  guise  of  law.  I  hold 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  citizenship  to  make  laws  and  the 
duty  of  the  judiciary  to  interpret  according  to  the  strict 
spirit  of  such  laws.  Holding  such  views,  I  shall  return 
to  the  ranks  of  private  life, and  as  an  American  citizen 
shall  do  what  is  in  my  power  to  repeal,  annul  and  re 
vise  the  statutes  which  now  stand  as  laws  for  the  gov 
ernment  and  welfare  of  the  people,  aiming  to  substitute 
in  the  place  qf  the  old  such  new  laws  as  the  changed 
environment  of  our  people  has  rendered  imperative. 
I  have,  with  the  highest  esteem,  the  honor  to  remain 
very  truly  yours, 

"JOHN  SMITH." 

This  was  in  September.  Judge  Smith  was  accused  of 
treason  by  some  excitable  people,  and  these  patriots 
were  not  a  little  surprised  to  learn  that  there  was  no 
law  against  criticising  the  constitution, or, in  fact,  any 
thing  else  in  this  country.  This  rabid  class  was  not 
large  numerically,  and  Judge  Smith's  letter  created  a 
profound  impression  throughout  the  country.  He  was 
a  man  of  national  reputation  and  a  judge  whose 
opinions  had  ever  been  received  with  the  greatest  re 
spect.  As  a  lawyer  he  had  amassed  a  considerable 
fortune  and  was  a  familiar  figure  in  the  best  social 
circles. 

When  Judge  Smith  left  the  bench  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law,  and  declined  repeated  invitations  to 


120  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

make  public  addresses  and  positively  refused  to  be  in 
terviewed  on  economic  subjects. 

The  excitement  following  the  anarchist  conspiracy 
in  1899,  soon  died  out.  There  was  a  slight  improve 
ment  in  business,  but  not  enough  to  give  employment 
to  any  great  number  of  men.  Under  the  constant 
strain  of  poverty  the  people  grew  more  restive.  Thou 
sands  of  small  shopkeepers  were  driven  out  of  business 
and  added  to  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed.  In  New 
York  City  a  procession  composed  mostly  of  ruined 
tradesmen  and  discharged  clerks  marched  down  Broad 
way.  Some  trifling  incident  turned  the  parade  into  a 
mob,and  in  the  fight  which  followed  the  stock  exchange 
was  wrecked,  and  many  of  the  brokers'  offices  sacked 
and  damaged. 

As  the  condition  of  the  country  grew  more  desperate 
the  hatred  of  foreigners  became  intense.  From  every 
section  there  came  a  demand  that  immigration  should 
be  stopped,  and  this  culminated  in  a  riot  in  New  York 
City,  the  responsibility  of  which  was  charged  to  the 
Patriotic  Sons  of  America,  a  secret  society  composed 
exclusively  of  Americans,  and  pledged  to  vote  for  and 
support  none  but  native-born  citizens.  A  mob  drove  a 
thousand  newly  arrived  immigrants  back  to  their  ships, 
and  several  of  theso  unfortunate  people  were  killed  and 
others  badly  injured.  This  affair  was  both  applauded 
and  condemned.  It  was  by  some  compared  to  the 
Boston  tea  party,  and  by  others  it  was  denounced  as 
an  unmitigated  outrage  on  a  people  who  had  been 
taught  to  believe  that  America  was  a  free  country  and 
a  home  for  the  oppressed. 

September  witnessed  the  famous  Belgian,  Holland 
and  English  railroad  stock  speculation, by  which  Ameri 
can  capitalists  lost  millions  of  dollars  and  the  foreign 
syndicate  vastly  increased  its  holdings.  A  powerful 
syndicate,  composed  of  wealthy  English,  Belgian  and 
Dutch  financiers  and  speculators,  successfully  manipu 
lated  the  American  market  and  precipitated  a  Wall 
Street  panic  September  27.  The  Vanderbilts  were 
pinched  for  about  $8,000,000,  and  many  of  the  best- 


JOHN   SMITH,    NATIONALIST  121 

known  brokers  in  the  country  were  ruined.  It  was 
estimated  that  the  syndicate  made  .$60,000,000  in  the 
decline  and  subsequent  rise  in  stocks.  During  all  this 
period  of  depression  the  foreign  capitalists  had  been 
heavy  buyers  of  American  securities,  and  reliable  au 
thorities  placed  their  holdings  at  over  one-half  of  the 
total  values  of  the  roads.  The  successful  coup  of  the 
syndicate  aroused  general  indignation.  Some  conserva 
tive  papers  even  hinted  that  the  time  would  come  when 
foreign  capital  would  be  glad  to  let  go  of  American 
railroad  stocks,  while  others  proposed  increased  taxation 
of  foreign  holdings  and  similar  radical  methods  of 
retaliation. 

The  excitable  temper  of  the  people  was  strikingly 
illustrated  in  the  October  riots  in  New  York; instigated 
by  that  erratic  and  grotesque  person,  George  Francis 
Train.  In  ordinary  times  little  or  no  attention  was 
paid  to  Mr.  Train's  movements,  and  his  picturesque 
individuality  served  only  to  amuse  the  public.  But 
these  were  not  ordinary  times,  and  one  of  Train's 
practical  jokes  was  the  spark  which  spread  into  a  con 
flagration,  which  at  one  time  amounted  almost  to  a 
revolution. 

In  a  characteristic  letter  George  Francis  Train  de 
clared  himself  dictator  of  the  United  States,  and  called 
upon  the  people  to  hold  a  mass  meeting  in  Madison 
Square,  New  York  City,  the  afternoon  of  October  1, 
1899,  at  which  time  he  announced  that  he  would  form 
ally  assume  the  dictatorship  and  lead  the  people  out  of 
their  distress.  Train  circulated  thousands  of  circulars 
printed  in  red,  white  and  blue,  advertising  the  meeting 
and  proclaiming  his  intentions.  At  first  the  public 
regarded  the  affair  as  a  huge  joke,  but  as  the  day  ap 
proached  for  the  meeting  an  undefinable  feeling  of 
apprehension  pervaded  New  York  City.  The  afternoon 
and  evening  preceding  the  Madison  Square  demonstra 
tion  Train  flooded  the  cities  of  New  York,  Brooklyn 
and  Jersey  City  with  these  circulars; 


122  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

LONG   LIVE  THE  PEOPLE! 

DEATH  TO  MILLIONAIRE  STOCK  ROBBERS,  TRUST  BARONS 

(CARNEGIE,  PULLMAN,  GOULD)  ! 

LONG  LIVE  THE  PEOPLE! 

HAIL  TO 

DICTATOR  GEORGE  FRANCIS  TRAIN' 
Formerly  citizen,  psycho,  globe  trotter,  philosopher, 

orator  and  capitalist. 
($200,000,000  in  Omaha). 

George  Francis  Train  Avill  proclaim  himself  dictator  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  at  Madison  Square  Garden, 
Saturday  afternoon,  Oct.  1,  1895.  Police  and  regular  army 
dare  not  interfere !  I  will  crush  them!  Down  with  the 
Byrneses,  Pinkertons,  murderers  and  assassins ! 

CITIZEN  GEORGE  FRANCIS  TRAIN. 
(Citizen  Train  to-day  only.  Dictator  Train  to-morrow  and 

forever. ) 

Shortly  after  3  o'clock  Saturday  morning  Train  was 
arrested  at  the  Continental  Hotel  by  two  officers.  The 
old  gentleman  did  not  surrender  until  after  a  terrific 
fight,  in  which  he  successfully  resisted  the  officers,  one 
of  whom  had  laid  his  hand  on  Train's  shoulder. 

"Don't  Jay  a  finger  on  me,"  shouted  Train  in  a  voice 
of  frenzied  rage.  "I  have  not  touched  man  or  woman 
in  thirty  years,  and  no  man  can  lay  his  hand  on  me 
and  live.  Stand  back  and  I  will  go  peaceably,  but  by 
all  the  powers  of  Psycho,  I  will  kill  the  first  man  who 
comes  near  me!" 

Tiie  officers,  who  had  emerged  from  the  scrimmage  in 
a  bruised  condition,  were  undecided  how  to  proceed. 
Train  was  finally  permitted  to  have  his  way,  and,  after 
flatly  refusing  to  ride  in  the  patrol  wagon,  walked  to 
Ludlow  Street  jail  and  entered  a  cell  with  the  air  of  a 
conqueror. 

"I  have  been  in  jail  thirty  times,"  he  informed  the 
reporter,  "and  I'll  be  damned-  if  I  don't  enjoy  it. 
Damn,  you  know,  is  Malayan  for  banana.  If  I  sa}T 
damn,  you  think  of  banana  and  you  won't  slip  up  on 
it.  Went  through  anarchist  trial  in  Chicago  when  I 
expected  to  have  a  bomb  thrown  at  me  by  police  every 
day,  but  never  saw-anything  like  this.  Shall  burn  New 
York  City  to-morrow.  Tell  Depew  to  get  out  of  town. 


JOHN   SMITH,    NATIONALIST 

He  is  a  friend   of  mine  and   I   don't  want  to  See  him 
killed." 

The  police  took  possession  of  Madison  Square  early 
Saturday  morning.  The  morning  papers  had  no  account 
of  Train's  arrest,  but  the  noon  papers  were  flaming 
with  headlines.  As  noon  approached  small  crowds  of 
workmen,  curiosity  seekers,  and  the  general  riffraff  of 
a  great  city  gathered  around  the  square.  By  1  o'clock 
not  less  than  20,000  people  blocked  Broadway  and 
Fifth  Avenue.  Few  of  them  knew  that  Train  had  been 
arrested,  and  the  papers  containing  the  news  were 
eagerly  read.  At  2  o'clock  not  Jess  than  100,030  men 
were  massed  around  Madison  Square. 

An  unknown  orator  mounted  the  Wolff  monument 
opposite  the  HoffmanHouse  and  commenced  a  harangue 
denouncing  the  police  for  arresting  George  Francis 
Train,  whom  the  speaker  lauded  as  a  "true  friend  of 
the  masses."  Wild  cheers  greeted  the  orator  and  the 
great  mob  closed  in  around  the  monument  Superin 
tendent  Byrnes  decided  to  take  action  and  charged  on 
the  crowd  and  ordered  them  to  disperse. 

A  hand-to-hand  combat  ensued,  Some  one  fired  a 
revolver  and  an  officer  fell  badly  wounded.  The  com 
manding  officer  ordered  another  charge  and  the  500 
police  pressed  forward.  The  crowd  did  not  run;  it 
could  not  retreat.  For  blocks  there  was  a  surging  mob 
of  men,  and  those  in  tront  were  shoved  ahead  against 
their  will.  The  officers  clubbed  right  and  left  and 
those  in  front  in  sheer  self-defense  plunged  into  the 
ranks  of  the  police  and  a  fearful  scone  followed.  The 
policemen  were  overcome  by  force  of  numbers  and  ter 
ribly  beaten.  Several  drew  their  revolvers  and  fired, 
eight  of  the  cowd,  some  of  whom  were  idle  spectators, 
being  wounded  and  two  killed.  Superintendent  Byrnes 
and  seventy-five  men  forced  their  way  through  the 
crowd  at  the  south  end  of  the  park  and  called  for  re- 
enforcements.  The  unexpected  victory  of  the  crowd 
had  its  effect.  They  had  smelled  gunpowder  and  blood. 
They  had  whipped  the  police.  From  a  curiosity-seek 
ing  gathering  of  men  it  became  an  unrestrained  mob. 


124  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMlTtt 

The  storm  broke  when  an  unknown  man  gave  the  cry: 

"On  to  Ludlow  jail!" 

Fifty  thousand  men  took  up  the  cry,  and  the  resist 
less  wave  of  humanity  swept  down  the  street.  All 
manner  of  men  were  there.  Barroom  loafers  and 
thieves  jostled  against  honest  mechanics  who  had  not 
worked  for  months;  jabbering  foreigners  from  the  back 
streets  tramped  beside  pale-faced  clerks  whose  former 
employers  had  been  ruined  in  the  panic;  loud-mouthed 
toughs  and  rowdies  from  the  Bowery  joined  with  small 
tradesmen,  and  the  seething  mass  of  humanity  rolled 
along  with  the  uucheckable  power  of  an  avalanche. 

A  crash  of  glass!  Five  hundred  men  gave  a  wild  yell 
and  dashed  into  a  jewelry  establishment.  A  pale-faced 
proprietor  makes  a  vain  show  of  resistance  and  the 
few  clerks  mingle  in  the  crowd,  glad  to  lose  their 
identity.  One  brave  clerk — the  proprietor's  son,  per 
haps — pulls  a  revolver  and  points  at  the  mob.  They 
laugh  and  a  burly  brute  wrenches  the  weapon  from  the 
boy's  grasp  and  hits  him  over  the  head  with  it.  In 
thirty  seconds  the  store  is  turned  inside  out.  Thou 
sands  of  dollars'  worth  of  diamonds,  watches  and  adorn 
ments  have  been  crammed  into  the  pockets  of  the  riot 
ers,  who  fight  among  themselves  over  the  spoils. 

A  bakery  and  a  meat  market  meet  a  similar  fate. 
The  mob  has  become  a  monster.  The  smell  of  blood 
and  the  sight  of  spoil  has  aroused  the  demon  which 
ever  sleeps  in  the  breast  of  man.  A  small  detachment 
of  police  attempted  to  check  the  devastating  inarch, 
but  was  swept  away. 

Above  the  deafening  roar  could  be  heard  the  occa 
sional  crack  of  a  pistol.  Down  the  street  frightened 
merchants  were  locking  their  doors  and  putting  up  the 
iron  shutters.  Not  all  of  the  mob  was  bent  on  rapine. 
A  few  endeavored  to  check  it,  but  their  efforts  were  of 
no  avail.  The  great  mass  kept  up  the  cry  of  "On  to 
Ludlow  Street  jail." 

The  police  were  prepared  for  the  coming  of  the  mob. 
Nearly  1,000  officers  were  massed  in  and  around  the 
jail,  and  the  front  rank  of  the  mob  received  a  volley 


JOHN    SMITH,    NATIONALIST  125 

which  dropped  sixty  men   and   created   a   momentary 
stampede. 

But  only  for  a  moment. 

Every  other  man  in  the  crowd  seemed  to  have  a  revol 
ver  and  the  fire  of  the  officers  was  returned.  Thousands 
of  men  took  possession  of  the  surrounding  houses,and  in 
comparative  safety  poured  a  deadly  fire  into  the  ranks 
of  the  police.  The  experience  of  Madison  Square  was 
repeated.  The  front  ranks  were  pressed  forward  by  the 
pressure  of  the  rear,  until,  with  a  wild  yell,  the  mob 
charged  on  the  jail.  It  was  all  over  in  a  minute.  The 
doors  opened  to  receive  the  retreating  officers  and  the 
mob  poured  in  after  them.  In  the  desperate  hand-to- 
hand  conflict  in  the  corridors  which  ensued  thirty-two 
officers  were  killed  and  as  many  more  of  the  mob  were 
shot.  The  cells  were  battered  down  and  the  prisoners 
released.  . 

George  Francis  Train  was  found  in  the  keeper's  pri 
vate  living-rooms.  He  had  keen  kindly  treated,  and 
on  his  promise  to  make  no  attempt  to  escape  had  been 
given  the  privileges  of  a  "trusty."  He  had  been  a 
spectator  of  the  fight,  but  nof  until  the  crowd  captured 
the  jail  did  Train  show  himself.  As  the  mob  swarmed 
through  the  hallway  Train  opened  the  door,  and,  step 
ping  jauntily  forward,  raised  his  red  fez  and  shouted: 

"Are  you  looking  for  me,  boys?  I  have  been  expect 
ing  you.  Let's  go  back  to  Madison  Square.  Don't 
hurt  these  policemen;  they  can't  help  it.  Some  of 
them  are  good  fellows,  but  damn  'em, I  don't  want  them 
to  put  their  hands  on  me." 

The  white-haired  old  eccentric  was  tumultuously 
cheered,  and  as  he  crowded  his  way  to  the  front  of  the 
jail  tens  of  thousands  of  men  yelled  themselves  hoarse. 
A  carriage  was  procured  and  Train  seated  inside.  A 
hundred  men  with  a  long  rope  pulled  the  carriage  back 
over  the  route  of  the  mob  and  took  possession  of  Madi 
son  Square.  Surrounded  by  an  enormous  multitude, 
few  of  whom  could  hear  a  word  he  said, Train  delivered 
a  rambling  speech  announcing  that  he  would  go  to 
Washington  the  next  day  and  assume  charge  of  the 


126  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

government.  The  crowd  slowly  disintegrated.  At  7 
o'clock  Train  was  still  speaking,  when  eight  companies 
of  officers  and  nearly  500  members  of  the  Seventh  Reg 
iment  marched  into  the  park.  The  mob  broke  and  ran 
without  a  shot  being  fired.  Train  gracefully  surrendered 
and  that  night  was  taken  out  of  the  city.  He  was  sub*- 
sequently  tried  for  inciting  a  riot,  acquitted  on  the 
ground  of  insanity,  committed  to  an  asylum  and  re 
leased  shortly  after  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 

This  remarkable  riot  entailed  a  loss  of  nearly  100 
lives  and  the  destruction  and  loss  of  several  millions  of 
dollars'  worth  of  property.  But  for  this  feature  it  would 
have  been  ridiculous.  With  Train  it  was  nothing  but 
an  erratic  joke, and  he  heartily  enjoyed  the  sensation  he 
had  created.  The  significant  feature  was  the  reception 
given  by  the  people  to  Train's  bombastic  proclamation. 
Many  of  them  were  deeply  in  earnest,  and  thousands  of 
desperate  men  embraced  the  opportunity  for  lawless 
ness  and  plunder  which  was  given. 

Had  a  daring,  resourceful  and  brainy  man  been  in 
command  of  such  a  mo^b,  New  York  would  have  been 
powerless  and  the  incipient  revolution  might  have 
spread  until  it  embraced  the  country. 

This  incident  aroused  an  agitation  in  favor  of  in 
creasing  the  regular  army.  At  the  next  session  of 
Congress  a  bill  was  passed  increasing  the  army  to  100,- 
000  men,  but  the  President  vetoed  it. 


CHAPTER  XL 


HOW  SUPREME  COURTS  PROTECT  THE  .  PEOPLE. 

GREAT  things  were  expected  from  the  Congress  which 
met  in  December,  1899.  In  a  stirring  message  the 
President  reviewed  the  condition  of  the  country  and 
recommended  some  radical  legislation.  He  urged  an 
increase  in  tariff  duties  for  the  protection  of  manu 
facturers  and  of  workmen.  He  also  urged  the  passage 
and  rigid  enactment  of  laws  prohibiting  the  formation 
or  operation  of  trusts,  combinations  and  all  agencies 
designed  to  regulate  and  curtail  production  and  com 
petition.  The  President  also  recommended  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  commission  to  inquire  into  the  management 
and  working  of  trade  unions  and  to  ascertain  to  what 
extent  they  were  interfering  in  the  free  exercise  of 
competition. 

The  Congress  of  1899  did  pass  a  stringent  law 
against  trusts  in  the  spirit  indicated  by  the  President 
in  his  message.  All  such  combines  were  declared  illegal 
and  a  number  of  ways  provided  by  which  state,  county 
and  municipal  officers,  on  the  petition  of  a  small  num 
ber  of  citizens  or  of  their  own  accord,  could  proceed 
against  a  trust  and  insure  its  disruption.  The  law  was 
carefully  drafted  and  conferred  upon  the  attorney- 
general  of  the  United  States  such  additional  power  as 
would  enable  him  to  more  easily  crush  out  the  mon 
opolies.  This  bill  was  passed  by  a  large  majority  of 
both  houses  and  signed  by  the  President.  None  of  the 
trusts  made  the  slightest  opposition  to  the  bill,  and 
congressional  callers  on  the  trust  magnates  met  a  cold 
reception  and  went  back  and  worked  and  voted  for  the 
bill.  Congress  handled  the  trade  union  question  gin- 

127 


128  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

gerly  and  adjourned  without  taking  action.  A  presi 
dential  election  waa  approaching  and  they  dared  not 
offend  the  unions. 

The  Supreme  Court  at  the  earliest  opportunity  de 
clared  the  trust  law  unconstitutional.  There  was  no 
dissenting  opinion.  Every  sensible  congressman  and 
senator  knew  that  the  law  would  be  set  aside  by  the 
court.  v 

In  their  written  opinion,  the  court  declared  the  law\ 
was  an  unconstitutional  attack  upon  the  right  of  con 
tract  and  an  unwarrantable  abridgment  of  individual 
liberty.  The  court  declared  that  two  or  more  firms  or 
corporations  had  the  same  right  to  enter  into  a  con 
tract,  agreement  or  stipulation  with  a  view  of  regulat 
ing  prices  and  production  as  had  two  or  more  men  to 
form  a  partnership  for  the  same  purpose. 

In  a  word,  the  court  plainly  said  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  or  in 
the  common  law  which  prevented  any  man  or  any 
number  of  men,firms,corporations  or  associations  from 
controlling,  if  they  could,  any  of  the  articles  or  com 
modities  which  entered  into  production.  The  trust  had 
attained  its  position  fairly  and  legally  by  taking  ad 
vantage  of  the  recognized  Jaws  of  trade  and  competition 
and  of  supply  and  demand.  If  the  court  had  the  power 
to  disrupt  trusts  and  kindred  associations,  it  also  had 
the  power  to  annul  corporations  and  partnerships. 
This  theory  carried  to  its  logical  end  would  place  every 
man  on  his  own  individual  resources,  restraining  him 
from  forming  an  alliance  with  his  fellowman  for  any 
purpose,  however  useful.  This  was  anarchy  pure  and 
simple,  and  directly  opposite  to  the  principles  of  any 
recognized  system  of  government. 

This  decision  had  been  anticipated  by  every  man 
capable  of  making  an  intelligent  analysis  of  the  situa 
tion.  The  trust  was  plainly  a  legal  and  justifiable  in 
stitution.  ^ — • 

The  cheap  politicians  of  the  day  ranted  about  trusts 
and  ascribed  all  the  evils  under  which  the  country 
suffered  to  them.  The  fact  was  that  had  it  not  been 


HOW  SUPREME  COURTS  PROTECT  THE  PEOPLE    129 

for  the  trusts  and  the  trade  unions  industrial  anarchy 
would  have  been  inevitable  and  civilization  would  have 
gone  down  in  a  series  of  bloody  and  fruitless  revolu 
tions.  The  trust  was  not  inherently  right  or  just, 
neither  was  the  trade  union,  Both  were  fortresses  be 
hind  which  lay  intrenched  those  forces  of  capital  and 
labor  which  had  been  wise  enough  to  fortify  themselves 
against  a  state  of  society  in  which  unrestricted  compe 
tition  meant  general  bankruptcy,  misery  and  anarchy. 

This  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
recalls  an  interesting  decision  which  was  handed  down 
by  a  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  in  October,  1893,  which 
illustrated  the  extent  to  which  the  voice  of  the  people 
was  heard  in  the  framing  of  laws.  Illinois  had  become 
a  great  manufacturing  state.  Wages  had  been  steadily 
reduced  and  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed  increased. 
The  workmen  decided  that  they  could  do  better  with  a 
weekly  pay  day.  Many  large  firms  had  held  back  wages 
for  a  month.  After  a  man  had  been  idle  for  two  or 
three  months  it  was  a  hardship, after  securing  a  position, 
to  be  compelled  to  wait  thirty  days  before  receiving  the 
money  he  had  earned.  The  weekly  pay  day  was  made 
an  issue.  The  distinctively  capitalistic  papers  strenu 
ously  opposed  it,  but  the  workmen  elected  two  branches 
of  a  legislature  and  a  governor  favorable  to  the  law, 
which  was  passed  and  signed.  The  Braceville  Coal 
Company, an  institution  which  for  years  was  a  member 
of  a  syndicate  which  had  grown  rich  by  starving  men, 
women  and  children,  and  which  had  enforced  by  Pink- 
erton  rifles  a  condition  of  slavery  compared  with  which 
Siberia  was  an  earthly  paradise — this  firm,  with  the 
blood  of  innocent  children  on  its  hands,  wen  tin  to  court 
in  1892,  and  at  its  beck  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois 
reversed  the  opinion  of  all  lower  courts  and  hurled 
back  into  the  face  of  the  people  a  law  which  they  had 
passed  in  the  face  of  combined  capital  and  capitalistic 
influences  of  the  state.  Here  is  the  substance  of  this 
opinion,  written  by  Justice  J.  P.  Shope,  stripped  of  its 
citations  of  references  back  to  the  time  of  Charles  II. : 

"There  can   be  no  liberty  protected  by  government 


180  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

that  is  not  regulated  by  such  laws  as  will  preserve  the 
right  of  each  citizen  to  pursue  his  own  advancement 
and  happiness  in  his  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  re 
straints  necessary  to  secure  the  same  right  to  all  others. 
The  fundamental  principle  upon  which  liberty  is  based 
in  a  free  and  enlightened  government  is  equality  under 
the  law  of  the  land  It  has  accordingly  been  every 
where  held  that  liberty,  as  that  term  is  used  in  the 
Constitution,  means  not  only  freedom  of  the  citizen 
from  servitude  and  restraint,  but  is  deemed  to  embrace 
the  right  of  every  man  to  be  free  in  the  use  of  his 
powers  and  faculties,  and  to  adopt  and  pursue  such 
avocation  or  calling  as  he  may  choose,  subject  only  to 
the  restraints  necessary  to  secure  the  common  welfare. 
"One  .illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  it  affects 
the  employe  out  of  many  that  might  be  given  may  be 
found  in  the  condition  arising  from  the  late  unsettled 
financial  affairs  of  the  country.  It  is  a  matter  of  com 
mon  knowledge  that  large  numbers  of  manufacturers 
shut  down  because  of  the  stringency  of  the  money 
market.  Employers  of  labor  were  unable  to  continue 
production  for  tha  reason  that  no  sale  could  be  found 
for  the  product.  It  was  suggested  in  the  interest  of 
employes  and  employers,  as  well  as  in  the  public  inter 
est,  that  employes  consent  to  accept  only  so  much  of 
their  wages  as  was  actually  necessary  to  their  susten 
ance,  reserving  payment  of  the  balance  until  business 
should  revive,  and  thus  enable  the  factories  or  work 
shops  to  be  open  and  operated  with  less  present  ex 
penditure  of  money.  Public  economists  and  leaders  in 
the  interest  of  labor  suggested  and  advised  this  course. 
In  this  state  and  under  this  law  no  such  contract  could 
be  made.  The  employe  who  sought  to  work  for  one  of 
the  corporations  enumerated  in  the  act  would  find  him 
self  incapable  of  contracting,  as  all  other  laborers  in 
the  state  might  do.  The  corporations  would  be  pro 
hibited  entering  into  such  a  contract,  and  if  they  did 
so  the  contract  would  be  voidable  at  the  will  of  the 
employe  and  the  employer  subject  to  a  penalty  for  mak 
ing  it.  The  employe  would  therefore  be  restricted  from 


HOW  SUPREME  COURTS  PROTECT  THE  PEOPLE   131 

making  such  a  contract  as  would  insure  to  him  support 
during  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs.  They  would, 
by  the  act,  be  practically  under  guardianship,  their 
contracts  voidable  as  if  they  were  minors,  their  right 
to  freely  contract  for  and  to  receive  the  benefit  of  their 
labor  as  others  might  be  denied  them." 

Note  this  judicial  description  of  the  economic  con 
ditions  of  1893:  "Employers  of  labor  were  unable  to 
continue  production  for  the  reason  that  no  sale  could 
be  found  for  their  product."  And  it  was  to  enable  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Illinois  workmen  to  labor 
fora  pittance  sufficient  to  keep  body  and  soul  together 
that  the  kind-heartd  judge  repealed  the  wicked  weekly 
pay-day  law. 

Read  that  decision  carefully.  It  pictures  a  condition 
of  grotesque  distress  more  vividly  than  anything  in  the 
preceding  pages.  Look  at  the  picture  which  Judge 
Shope  presents.  Factories  and  mines  are  shut  down 
because  they  have  produced  so  much  that  there  is  "no 
sale  for  their  product."  The  unfortunate  workmen  who 
were  guilty  of  doing  all  this  wicked  work  are  starving 
for  the  food  they  have  created  and  freezing  for  want 
of  the  coal  they  have  mined  and  the  clothes  they  havf 
woven.  They  beg  to  be  allowed  to  work  for  "only  so 
much  of  their  wages  as  was  actually  necessary  to  their 
sustenance."  They  beg  to  be  allowed  to  produce  more 
stuff  that  thej7  can  not  buy  and  for  which  there  is  no 
market.  And  in  order  that  there  may  be  nothing  in  the 
way  of  making  such  a  contract  Judge  Shope,  in  the 
kindness  of  his  heart,  repeals  with  a  stroke  of  his  pen 
the  weekly  pay-day  act.  Such  was  the  marvelous 
patience  of  the  people  who  lived  in  1893. 

The  author  has  refrained  from  any  mention  of  the 
barbarous  treatment  accorded  certain  workmen  and 
the  outrages  which  were  perpetrated  in  the  develop 
ment  of  child  and  female  labor,  for  the  reason  that  as 
a  rule  the  American  employer  was  kind  and  considerate 
to  his  employes.  But  there  were  exceptions,  and  as  the 
fight  for  life  grew  more  intense  certain  classes  of  labor 
were  treated  with  a  savagery  which  almost  surpasses 


182  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

human  belief.  And  the  Braceville  Coal  Company  be 
longed  to  a  coterie  of  slave-drivers  in  whose  company 
a  cannibal  would  blush  for  his  manhood. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  writer  as  a  newspaper  reporter 
to  visit  the  Braceville,  Braidwood,  ar.d  Spring  Valley 
coal  regions  and  to  spend  several  weeks  with  the  miners 
and  their  families.  This  was  in  the  spring  of  1889,  and 
while  the  introduction  of  this  incident  may  be  out  of 
its  proper  sequence  the  author  excuses  it  on  the  ground 
that  it  presents  a  true  picture  of  mining  districts  as 
they  then  existed,  and  illustrates  tho  depths  of  deprav 
ity  to  which  competition  and  greed  can  descend  in  the 
pursuit  of  money. 

The  majority  of  the  Braidwood  workmen  were  Amer 
icans  or  Scotch  and  English  coal  miners  who  settled 
in  Braidwood  before  the  war.  Most  of  them  owned 
their  homes.  Then  there  was  a  scattering  of  recently 
imported  German, Polish, Italian  and  some  Irish  work 
men  living  in  houses  rented  them  by  the  company. 
The  old  miners  had  lived  to  see  their  wages  decrease 
from  $5  and  $6  a  day,  until  in  1889  $18  a  month  was 
considered  fair  pay.  This  decrease  had  been  steady, 
and  had  all  been  accomplished  under  a  protective  tariff, 
the  workmen  steaily  voting  to  perpetuate  that  system. 
Early  in  1889  the  coal  company  made  another  reduc 
tion  and  the  men  struck.  The  company  made  no  effort 
to  operate  the  mines  in  Braidwood,  but  kept  open  for 
a  time  those  in  Streator,  Spring  Valley  and  other 
points.  No  language  can  describe  the  suffering  at 
Braidwood.  The  people  had  been  unable  to  save  a 
dollar  in  anticipation  of  a  lockout — for  that  was  what 
it  was. 

Little  children  starved  in  their  mothers'  arms,  and 
hundreds  would  have  perished  had  not  the  good  people 
of  Chicago,  urged  on  by  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the 
distress,  sent  car  loads  of  provisions  to  the  afflicted 
town. 

Beneath  a  round  hill  near  the  town  the  skeletons  of 
sixty  miners  repose  under  masses  of  rock  and  coal,  in  a 
flooded  mine.  The  company  decided  that  it  would  not 


Occasionally  there  was  a  riot. 
133 


HOW  SUPREME  COURTS  PROTECT  THE  PEOPLE    185 

be  profitable  to  attempt  to  work  the  mines  or  recover 
the  bodies,  and  to-day  these  unknown  and  forgotten 
toilers  sleep  beneath  the  tons  of  rock  and  coal.  In  tho 
dreary  days  and  nights  of  that  summer  the  children  of 
these  dead  miners  starved,  while  the  millionaire  mem 
bers  of  the  syndicate  drove  their  carriages  down  grand 
boulevards  and  on  Sundays  lolled  back  in  their  church 
pews  and  listened  to  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

Every  conceivable  device  was  employed  to  rob  these 
men.  They  were  swindled  in  the  weighing  of  coal, 
forced  to  patronize  robbing  company  truck  stores, 
and  paid  in  vouchers  which  the  banks  cashed  at  a  dis 
count.  After  years  of  such  treatment  the  company  de 
cided  to  restrict  the  production  of  coal,  and  the  faith 
ful  miners  were  not  given  the  consideration  accorded 
swine  and  poultry. 

Even  worse  was  the  crime  committed  at  Spring  Val 
ley.  Not  in  all  the  pitiful  annals  of  the  poor  can  be 
found  a  parallel  to  the  outrage  perpetrated  in  1889 
against  4,000  innocent  people  at  Spring  Valley.  It 
was  a  new  town  built  around  several  coal  shafts.  The 
company  advertised  for  men,  offering  good  wages.  The 
company  laid  out  the  town,  sold  the  miners  lots  and 
built  them  houses,  taking  mortgages  on  the  same,  and 
forced  a  contract  stipulating  that  regular  monthly 
payments  with  high  interest  be  taken  from  their  wages. 

Five  years  passed.  The  wages  had  been  steadily  re 
duced  until  the  monthly  payments  left  but  little  for  the 
growing  family.  But  the  workman  smiled  as  he  thought 
that  the  house  and  lot  was  over  half  paid  for.  Then 
came  the  news  of  the  Braidwood  strike.  A  few  days 
later  the  Spring  Valley  men  were  notified  of  a  cut  in 
wages.  They  did  not  strike  as  the  company  had  desired 
and  anticipated.  Thereupon  the  company  closed  cer 
tain  shafts  and  locked  half  of  the  men  out.  The  locked- 
out  men  and  their  families  were  on  the  verge  of  starva 
tion.  The  men  still  at  work  held  a  secret  meeting  and 
agreed  to  divide  their  time  with  those  out  of  work. 
Their  wages  did  not  exceed  $16  a  month.  No  greater 
unselfishness  was  ever  shown.  Two  weeks  later  all  the 


136  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

shafts  were  closed  down.  Spring  Valley  was  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  world.  It  was  distinctively  a  min 
ing  town.  There  was  not  a  factory  of  any  kind  in  the 
vicinity.  Spring  Valley's  starving  people  went  into 
the  woods  and  gathered  acorns,  which  they  ate  raven 
ously.  They  begged  farmers  for  half-ripe  field  corn. 

Did  the  wealthy  company  give  these  honest  people  a 
doJlar  out  of  its  abundance?  No. 

What  did  it  do  in  this  time  of  pitiful  distress? 

It  foreclosed  the  mortgage's  on  their  half-paid-for 
homes  and  ejected  weeping  women  and  children  from 
humble  cottages,  which  represented  the  miserable  sav 
ings  of  five  years  of  the  hardest  kind  of  toil. 

And  the  people  who*  lived  in  those  days  marveled 
much  that  once  in  awhile  a  crazy  man  threw  a  dyna 
mite  bomb. 

How  did  these  people  at  Braidwood  and  Spring  Val 
ley  accept  their  fats?  As  though  it  had  been  decreed 
by  God.  They  made  little  complaint.  They  seldom 
talked  violently.  I  saw  men  whose  children  were 
crying  for  food— great,  strong  men— stand  around  a 
truck  store  filled  with  groceries  and  closed  because  the 
company  knew  the  people  had  no  money.  There  was 
not  enonsrh  manhood  in  the  crowd  to  batter  down  the 
doors  and  take  that  which  lay  before  them.  Long  years 
of  oppression  and  enervating  toil  had  effaced  from  their 
souls  the  very  conception  of  liberty.  Then,  and  not 
until  then,  did  I  realize  that  the  spirit  of  liberty  does 
not  exist  in  hungry  men. 

People  talked  about  a  day  coming  when  the  people 
would  become  so  hungry  and  desperate  that  they  would 
rise  in  a  revolution  and  sweep  all  before  them.  Such 
a  day  will  never  come.  Hungry  men  may  fight,  but  it 
will  be  for  a  bone — not  for  liberty.  The  perpetuity  of 
liberty  rests  with  those  who  eat  three  square  meals  a 
day. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  PEOPLE  HOLD  A  CONVENTION. 

THE  presidential  campaign  of  1900  was  held  under 
conditions  which  did  not  differ  materially  from  those 
which  prevailed  in  1893.  Manufacturing  showed  little 
change  for  the  better.  Shops  would  resume  operations 
for  a  time  and  continue  until  they  had  supplied  the 
limited  demand,  while  others  remained  open  and  ran 
with  decreased  forces  of  men.  New  inventions  created 
new  industries,  some  of  which  thrived,  while  others 
failed,  but  the  demand  for  employment  ever  exceeded 
the  supply.  The  danger  of  overproduction  was  gen 
erally  understood- and  with  it  the  panic  had  evidently 
become  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  in  its  place  had  come 
an  era  of  constant  depression,  the  concomitant  of  a 
carefully  regulated  method  of  production.  The  farm 
ing  interests  suffered  even  more  than  the  mercantile 
from  this  cause.  Every  workman  who  could  save 
enough  money  moved  into  the  country  in  the  hope  that 
he  could  at  least  support  his  family  upon  the  products 
of  a  rented  farm.  Wheat  and  grain  of  all  kinds  steadily 
decreased  in  price.  The  causes  were  simple  enough. 
Production  of  grains  had  increased  and  home  con 
sumption  had  decreased.  Wheat  sold  at  45  cents  a 
bushel  and  except  in  speculative  bulges  seldom  went 
above  55  cents 

As  the  time  for  the  conventions  approached  political 
excitement  increased.  The  Republicans  made  an  ag 
gressive  campaign  and  charged  the  Democrats  with 
the  entire  responsibility  foi  the  prevailing  disaster. 
Mark  Kimbly  and  Thomas  Reeve  were  the  rival  can 
didates  for  the  presidency,  but  Kimbly  was  the 
favorite.  Kimbly  was  a  typical  representative  of 

137 


IBS  PRESIDENT  JOttN   SM1TM 

the  protective  system,  undoubtedly  the  most  idiotic 
heresy  with  which  any  considerable  section  of  a 
people  have  been  afflicted.  Kiinbly  and  his  adherents 
believed,  or  claimed  to  believe,  that  the  nation  could 
become  rich  and  prosperous  by  levying  a  high  tax  on 
imports.  This  was  to  "protect  American  labor."  He 
did  not  propose  to  prohibit  these  imports,  but  simply 
to  make  a  tariff  so  high  as  to  "maintain  American 
wages."  Had  there  been  a  demand  for  labor  in  excess 
of  the  supply  it  is  possible  to  imagine  how  an  artificial 
wage  scale  could  have  been  forced  upon  the  employer 
by  his  workmen  under  the  operation  of  a  protective 
tariff.  But  there  were  two  workmen  for  every  position. 
Wages  were  thereupon  regulated  by  two  causes, viz., the 
surplus  supply  of  starving  workmen, and  secondly,  the 
strength  of  the  trade  unions.  The  trusts  therefore 
manufactured  under  the  tariff  and  sold  their  products 
at  a  sum  a  little  below  the  market  price  of  the  foreign 
commodity  with  the  tariff  added.  This  did  not  stop 
imports,  the  foreign  manufacturers  supplying  their 
products  to  American  merchants,  who  paid  the  tariff, 
charged  the  amount  up  to  their  customers,  and  then 
disposed  of  the  imported  material  to  people  who  pre 
ferred  foreign-made  articles  to  those  of  home  manu 
facture  for  one  reason  and  another.  The  effect  of  the 
Kimbly  and  other  tariff  bills  therefore  was: 

1.  To  increase  the  profits  of  the  trust  and  to  more 
strongly  fortify  the  trust  against  competition  at  home 
or  abroad. 

2.  To  force  the  consumer  to  pay  a  duty  not  only  on 
all  imported  goods,  but  also  on  all  home  products  of  a 
similar  nature. 

8.  To  limit  manufacturers  largely  to  a  home  market, 
it  being  impossible  for  them  to  pay  duties  on  raw 
materials  and  compete  in  foreign  markets.  The  tre 
mendous  natural  commercial  advantage  which  came 
from  the  development  of  American  machinery  was 
therefore  lost. 

4.  It  had  not  the  slightest  effect  on  wages,  which 
were  regulated  by  the  iron  law  of  supply  and  demand 


THE   PEOPLE   HOLD   A   CONVENTION  139 

and  which  constantly  fell  from  the  time  high  tariff 
was  first  adopted  until  they  reached  the  starvation  limit 
in  1893-96. 

In  1896  the  larger  part  of  a  high  protective  tariff 
bill  was  still  in  force  and  effect,  and  Republican  ora 
tors  were  telling  stupid  workmen  that  the  Democrats 
had  brought  hard  times  upon  the  country.  These  men 
had  the  brazen  effrontery,  in  the  face  of  facts  so  plain 
that  any  man  with  an  ounce  of  brains  could  understand 
them, to  openly  proclaim  that  shops  and  factories  were 
shut  down  for  the  reason  that  manufacturers  were  suf 
fering  from  a  "lack  of  confidence"  in  the*' Democratic 
party. 

What  of  the  Democratic  party?     What  had  it  done? 

Nothing. 

That  had  been  the  consistent  record  of  the  Democ 
racy  for  108  years.  The  most  timid  factory  owner  in 
the  country  was  not  losing  sleep  over  the  prospective 
policy  of  the  Democracy.  It  had  no  policy.  The 
Democracy  spent  its  time  in  venerating.  It  venerated 
the  constitution.  It  venerated  Jefferson,  Jackson, and 
last  but  not  least,  it  venerated  the  McKinley  bill. 
When  the  Democrats  came  into  power  in  1892  they 
found  the  McKinley  bill  a  part  of  the  governmental 
furniture,  and  aside  from  removing  some  of  the  un- 
Democratic  gewgaws  and  un-Jacksonian  adornments 
the  McKinley  bill  remained  in  all  its  glory  under  an 
other  name.  It  was  the  same  old  Democracy  in  1900. 
It  found  all  its  ammunition  in  a  denunciation  of  Re 
publicanism  for  the  passage  of  laws  which  it  declined 
to  erase  from  the  statute-books.  The  Republicans 
were  guilty  of  sins  of  commission  and  the  Democrats 
of  those  of  omission. 

In  1900,  as  in  1892,  the  Republican  party  was  mar 
shaled  by  brilliant,  brainy,  but  dishonest  and  unscru- 
pulous]leaders,who  had  no  difficulty  in  controlling  sev 
eral  millions  of  sentimetalists,  bogus  patriots,  bigots 
and  dupes,  and  other  millions  of  well-intentioned  pec- 
pie  who  could  find  no  better  company  but  desired  to 
belong  to  some  party.  The  Republican  party  wag  so 


140  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

tainted  with  corruption  that  many  men  naturally  Re 
publicans  were  forced  into  the  graveyard  of  Democracy 
or  into  the  Populist  party. 

The  great  middle  class — the  small  merchants, trades 
people,  the  mechanics  and  workmen  who  had  saved  a 
little  out  of  their  earnings;  the  professional  class- 
doctors,  lawyers,  journalists;  that  powerful,  conserva 
tive  body  which  lay  between  arrogant  wealth  and  help 
less,  ignorant  poverty,had  lost  all  faith  in  the  so-called 
Republicanism  and  Democracy  of  the  day. 

For  hal^a,  generation  they  had  been  waiting  for  a 
leader  who  should  disrupt  old  party  lines;  a  Moses  who 
should  direct  them  out  of  the  panic-infested  and  de 
pression-haunted  wilderness,  but  no  such  leader  arose 
above  the  dull  level  of  political  mediocrity.  No  man 
prominent  in  the  ranks  of  the  Populists  attracted  the 
fancy  of  this  dissatisfied  but  conservative  army  of 
voters,  and  as  the  campaign  of  1900  drew  near  it  be 
came  evident  that  the  same  old  sham  battle  was  to  be 
again  waged  on  the  same  dreary  old  lines. 

The  Republican  national  convention  met  in  St.  Louis, 
and  after  a  bitter  contest  between  Thomas  B.  Reeve  of 
Maine  and  Mark  Kimbly  of  Ohio  the  latter  was  nomi 
nated,  and  a  platform  adopted  pledging  the  party  to 
an  increase  in  the  tariff,  a  defense  of  the  pension  laws, 
and  a  strict  adhesion  to  "honest  money" — meaning  a 
gold  standard  of  monometallism. 

The  convention  was  absolutely  under  the  control  of 
the  bankers  and  American  representatives  of  the  Euro 
pean  money  syndicates.  The  orators  made  glowing  pre 
dictions  of  the  good  times  which  would  follow  a  strict 
adhesion  to  sound  money.  They  declared  that  the  time 
had  come  when  the  government  should  go  out  of  the 
banking  business  and  pledged  the  party  to  a  permanent 
retirement  of  the  greenback  on  an  issue  of  bank  notes 
by  the  national  banks.  They  attempted  to  prove  that 
the  country  was  enjoying  a  degree  of  prosperity  and 
talked  much  about  the  old  flag,  a  restoration  of  confidence 
and  the  necessity  of  closer  relations  with  Great  Britain. 
The  leaders  confidently  predicted  an  easy  and  overwhelm 
ing  victory. 


THE  PEOPLE   HOLD  A   CONVENTION.  141 

The  Democratic  national  convention  was  held  in  New 
York  City.  The  south  demanded  recognition,  and 
presented  Miles  of  Texas.  ^Gorland  of  Maryland  had 
some  followers,  and  Boise  and  Pick  had  pledged  dele 
gations.  It  became  evident  that  Miles  could  not  win, 
and  after  a  caucus  the  silver  men  decided  to  throw  their 
strength  to  Hild  of  New  York,  who  w,as  considered  not 
unfriendly  to  silver  and  was  the  stanchest  kind  of  a 
spoils  and  partisan  Democrat.  He  was  not  so  strict  a 
constitutional  constructionist  as  the  southern  delegates 
would  have  liked,  but  otherwise  he  filled  the  bill.  After 
a  bitter  contest  Hild  was  nominated  and  Boise  accepted 
second  place  on  the  ticket,  the  Republicans  having  nomi 
nated  Thomas  Reeve  for  that  position. 

The  Populist  party  promised  to  be  a  factor  in  this 
campaign,  but  it  was  badly  handicapped  by  reason  of  a 
lack  of  organization,  leadership  and  cohesion.  In  its 
ranks  were  found  men  holding  such  widely  varying  op 
inions  that  nothing  but  a  common  hatred  of  the  prevail 
ing  conditions  held  them  together.  There  were  green- 
backers,  pure  and  simple,  who  believed  that  the  country 
could  be  saved  if  the  government  would  only  issue  enough 
paper  money  based  solely  on  the  credit  of  the  country. 
Closely  allied  to  these  were  the  silver  men,  handicapped 
by  the  fact  that  they  were  led  by  the  mine  owners,  who 
were  alleged  to  have  a  selfish  motive  in  urging  the  free 
coinage  of  silver.  Their  followers  believed  in  an  increased 
supply  of  money  and  were  willing  to  enrich  the  mine  ow 
ners  if  the  country  could  in  return  be  flooded  with  money. 
There  was  also  an  aggressive  and  influential  body  of 
socialists  and  nationalists  who  urged  the  governmental 
purchase  and  control  of  railroads  and  telegraph  lines,  a 
proposition  in  which  the  farmers  concurred  and  in  which 
the  silver  men  had  little  sympathy  and  took  no  interest. 
There  was  also  a  smattering  of  woman  suffragists  and 
not  a  few  free  traders  who  had  become  disgusted  with  the 
Democratic  party  and  had  abandoned  all  hope  of  an  over 
throw  of  the  protective-tariff  citadel  at  the  hands  of  the 
Bourbons. 


142  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

Each  of  these  factions  had  earnest,  uncompromising 
leaders  and  followers,  and  at  the  party  conventions  it 
became  more  and  more  difficult  to  form  a  platform 
which  would  placate  the  conflicting  interests.  But  with 
all  these  discouraging  features  the  Populists  survived, 
and  with  each  election  had  increased  their  voting 
strength.  In  the  south  the  Democrats  lost  by  this  de 
fection  and  in  some  of  the  northern  states  the  Repub 
licans  found  their  majorities  cut  down  and  ofttimes 
obliterated. 

The  People's  party,  or  the  Populists,  as  it  was  more 
commonly  called,  met  in  national  convention  July  1, 
1900,  in  the  Coliseum  at  Chicago.  Every  state  in  the 
Union  was  represented  by  a  complete  delegation.  The 
great  ball  was  filled  to  overflowing  on  the  first  day  of 
'the  convention,  and  as  the  respective  delegations  filed 
in  they  were  greeted  with  tumultuous  applause.  All  the 
men  who  had  become  in  any  way  prominent  in  the 
movement  were  present,  and  as  the  vast  audience  recog 
nized  some  familiar  character  they  cheered  in  that 
wildly  boisterous  way  which  marks  the  enthusiast. 

Every  shade  of  discontent  was  represented.  The  age 
which  had  forced  this  remarkable  gathering  had  been 
a  prolific  breeder  of  selfishness.  Each  ism  had  its 
narrow  representative,  anxious  to  force  to  the  front 
some  remedy  calculated  to  promote  the  renewed  pros 
perity  of  the  class  or  craft  composing  it. 

Among  the  delegates  of  Illinois  was  Judge  John 
Smith  of  Chicago.  Judge  Smith  was  known  only  by 
reputation  to  the  majority  of  those  present.  Since  his 
retirement  from  the  bench  he  had  devoted  himself  to 
law  practice  and  had  created  somewhat  of  a  sensation 
in  the  literary  world  by  a  series  of  articles  in  a  leading 
magazine  in  which  he  boldly  attacked  the  theory  of 
representative  government.  He  had  also  written  articles 
on  nationalism,  in  which  he  took  advanced  ground  in 
favor  of  the  nationalizing  of  railroads  and  other  methods 
of  transportation  and  exchange.  These  articles  had 
attracted  much  attention,  and  among  literary  people 
Judge  Smith  was  always  spoken  of  asuThe  Nationalist. " 


THE   PEOPLE   HOLD   A   CONVENTION  143 

After  much  persuasion  Judge  Smith  had  consented  to 
become  a  delegate  and  was  heartily  welcomed  by  the 
old-time  Populist  leaders,  most  of  whom  he  now  met 
for  the  first  time. 

Judge  Smith  was  in  the  full  prime  of  a  magnificent 
manhood.  Six  feet  in  height;  a  massive  head  covered 
with  black  hair  and  shaded  with  gray  rested  on  a  pair 
of  shoulders  of  which  an  athlete  might  well  be  proud; 
a  smoothly  shaven  face,  keen  but  kindly  black  eyes, 
and  nose  and  chin  that  betokened  character  and  strength 
were  the  physical  characteristics  of  Judge  Smith.  Judge 
Smith  had  none  of  the  personal  magnetism  of  the  suc 
cessful  politician.  He  was  described  by  a  reporter  on 
the  day  of  the  convention  as  a  man  who  impressed  one 
as  "a  cool,  thoughtful,  calculating  investigator;  a  man 
of  decided  ideas,  of  hatred  and  contempt  for  the  con 
ventional  ;  a  despiser  of  shams  and  a  lover  of  the  truth ; 
earnest  in  his  convictions,  but  not  a  bigot  or  an  en 
thusiast;  a  man  conscious  of  his  strength  and  confident 
of  his  power, but  whose  batteries  were  masked  and  held 
in  reserve." 

Judge  Smith  had  all  the   bearing   of  an  aristocrat. 

As  one  paper  expressed  it,  uhe  looks  like  a  banker  and 

writes  like  a  labor  agitator."     Few   of   the   delegates 

presant  dreamed  that  around  this  quiet  man  vast  forces 

t  would  center  and  move  irresistibly  onward. 

The  convention  organized,  appointed  its  committees, 
and  indulged  in  oratory  while  waiting  for  their  reports. 
The  expected  and  inevitable  wrangle  occurred  over  the 
platform.  The  committee  on  platform  was  unable  to 
submit  a  unanimous  report.  The  majority  submitted 
a  platform  favoring  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver,  the  levy  of  an  increased  income  tax,  the  govern 
mental  purchase  of  railroads,  and  the  passage  of  a  na 
tional  eight-hour  law. 

The  minority  omitted  all  reference  to  silver  and  rec 
ommended  the  issuance  of  greenbacks,  the  establish 
ment  of  government  grain  elevators  and  the  issuance 
of  grain  certificates  which  should  pass  current  as 
money,  an  increased  income  tax  and  governmental  pur- 


144  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

chase  and  control  of  railroads  and  the  establishment  of 
a  minimum  scale  of  wages.  Twenty  delegates  were  on 
their  feet  at  once  demanding  recognition.  Jt  was  openly 
stated  that  the  majority  report  had  been  inspired  by 
money.  The  lie  was  passed  and  the  convention  was  on 
the  verge  of  a  riot.  Violence  was  prevented  by  the  activ 
ity  of  the  sergeants-at-arms  and  the  police,  and  after  a 
struggle  the  presiding  officer  secured  something  like 
quiet. 

During  this  disgraceful  proceeding  Judge  Smith  had 
remained  quiet.  He  had  listened  to  the  reading  of  the 
two  reports  and  to  the  outburst  which  followed  with 
out  giving  expression  to  the  honest  indignation  he  felt. 
He  addressed  the  chairman  and  was  recognized.  Judge 
Smith  advanced  to  the  platform  and  in  a  voice  and 
manner  which  commanded  immediate  attention  said: 

"'MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  DELEGATES  OF  THE  CONVENTION: 
I  move  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  both  the  majority  and 
minority  reports  of  the  committee  on  platform  be  re 
jected,  that  the  committee  be  discharged,  and  that  a 
new  one  be  appointed,  and  on  that  motion  I  desire  to 
be  heard  You  have  mistaken  the  temper  and  spirit  of 
the  American  people.  They  have  not  delegated  to 
cheap  politicians  the  right  to  use  the  sacred  name  of 
the  people.  They  have  made  no  demand  for  a  party 
with  a  platform  constructed  of  the  political  driftwood 
your  committee  has  so  laboriously  collected  and  over 
whose  comparative  rottenness  a  conflict  is  now  impend 
ing.  There  is  no  high  place  in  American  politics  for  a 
second-hand  political  junk  syndicate.  I  do  not  believe 
that  your  committee  reflects  the  patriotism  and  com 
mon  sense  of  the  convention  or  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States. 

"Why  this  stupid  imitation  of  old-party  methods? 
Has  one  generation  of  comparative  poverty  so  stupefied 
the  nation  that  the  eyes  of  the  representatives  of  the 
common  people  are  blind  to  the  weapons  within  their 
reach?  What  care  you  for  the  silver  question?  This 
is  not  a  convention  of  bankers.  What  do  you  know 
about  the  money  problem?  Leave  to  the  financiers  for 


THE   PEOPLE  HOLD   A   CONVENTION  145 

the  present  at  least  the  discussion  of  monetary  affairs. 
Open  your  eyes.  Brush  aside  the  crafty  plotters  who 
have  muddled  your  brain  and  step  out  into  the  clear 
sunlight  and  let  the  free  wind  sweep  away  the  cobwebs 
which  oust  o;n  and  superstition  have  woven  around  you. 
.  "Stand  on  an  elevation  and  take  a  calm,  dispassion- 
late  view  of  the  country  in  which  we  hold  citizenship. 
!  What  do  we  see?  A  free  people  in  slavery.  A  country 
•without  a  king  suffering  from  absolute  despotism.  A 
republic  in  which  the  majority  is  throttled  by  a  minor 
ity,  A  land  burdened  with  wealth,  fields  wavering 
(with  grain,  warehouses  bursting  with  manufactured 
^products,  and  millions  of  people  dependent  on  charity 
tind  at  the  verge  of  starvation.  It  is  election  day  and 
they  have  ballots  in  their  hands.  The  bands  are  play 
ing  in  the  streets,  and  the  people  seem  happy  and  con 
fident.  Are  these  poor  people  voting  to  improve  their 
condition?  They  think  so.  Are  they  all  voting  the 
same  ticket?  Oh,  no.  Some  vote  the  Republican, 
some  the  Democratic,  and  some  the  people's  ticket. 
What  are  they  voting  for?  They  are  voting  for  men. 
These  men  when  elected  'represent'  them.  They  go  to 
Washington,  to  the  various  state  capitols,  and  to  the 
city  halls.  What  do  they  do  there?  As  they  please. 
"Gentlemen  of  this  convention,  bravery  is  as  es 
sential  to  success  in  politics  as  it  is  to  achieve  victory 
in  war.  No  successful  political  party  was  ever  founded 
by  cowards.  Give  the  people  an  issue.  The  country  is 
awaiting  the  formation  of  a  political  party  that  shall 
present  questions  in  which  the  whole  people  is  inter-' 
esfcecl.  They  do  not  care  for  the  silver  question;  they 
are  not  demanding  greenbacks.  They  would  like  to  see 
the  government  wipe  out  railroad  monopoly  and  dis 
crimination,  but  the  national  ownership  of  railroads  is 
not  what  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  now 
urgently  demanding.  They  are  interested  in  the  suc 
cess  of  trade  unions  and  in  just  wages,  but  not  all  the 
people  are  members  of  such  unions.  They  would  desire 
to  see  the  mortgage  lifted  from  the  home  of  the  farmer, 
but  all  the  people  are  not  farmers. 


146  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

"But  all  the  people  love  liberty.  Every  man  desires 
to  be  free.  Slavery  has  few  defenders.  Let  your  plat 
form  declare  for  the  political  and  economic  freedom  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States.  There  are  two  great 
attributes  of  freedom:  The  right  to  live  and  the  right 
to  have  an  equal  voice  with  all  other  men  in  the  affairs 
of  government.  No  man  is  a  free  man  to  whom  these 
rights  are  denied  or  abridged. 

"Both  of  these  rights  have  been  denied  and  are  to 
day  trampled  under  foot  in  this  country. 

"Deny  a  man  the  right  to  work  and  earn  a  living 
and  you  have  taken  from  him  life,  liberty  and  honor. 
You  have  made  him  worse  than  a  slave.  The  slave 
earns  his  living.  The  man  whom  society  denies  work 
has  a  pitiful  choice  between  suicide,  starvation,  the  ac 
ceptance  of  charity,  or  a  career  of  crime.  Thomas  Jef 
ferson  said  that  all  men  were  endowed  with  the  inalien 
able  rights  to  life,  liberty  and  pursuit  of  happiness. 
This  trinity  could  have  been  expressed  by  the'  word 
'wages,'  signifying  that  which  honest  toil  brings.  Any 
country,  any  condition  of  society,  in  which  by  any 
combination  of  circumstances  a  man  is  refused  an  op 
portunity  to  make  a  living  by  honest  work  deserves  to 
be  swept  into  oblivion  by  a  defrauded  and  indignant 
people.  The  first  duty  of  the  government  is  to  protect 
the  life  of  its  subjects. 

"Man  must  live  by  work.  In  payment  for  that  work 
he  receives  wages.  That  government  governs  best  which 
assures  to  its  subjects  the  largest  share  of  the  products 
of  their  labor.  Any  government  which  tolerates  a  con 
dition  under  which  a  willing  subject  is  denied  work  has 
denied  to  that  subject  all  the  inalienable  rights  which 
nature  bestowed  upon  him.  The  United  States  is  essen 
tially  a  nation  of  workmen.  It  has  been  our  proudest 
boast  that  honest  labor  is  dignified  and  that  the  sov 
ereigns  of  the  republic  are  its  toilers.  Under  our  in 
dustrial  system,  with  its  introduction  of  machinery  and 
the  minute  subdivision  of  labor,  the  workman  has  been 
stripped  of  his  tools  and  his  entire  capital  has  become 
his  brains,  hands  and  muscles.  Deny  him  the  right  to 


THE  PEOPLE   HOLD   A   CONVENTION  147 

use  these  and  receive  compensation  for  this  service  and 
you  have  sentenced  him  to  death,  pauperism  or  crime. 
In  the  United  States  within  the  last  four  years  not 
less  than  5,000,000  men  have  been  at  one  time  sen 
tenced  to  involuntary  idleness,  entailing  misery  on  un 
told  millions  of  dependent  wives  and  children.  No 
greater  crime  ever  blackened  history.  The  blame  rests 
upon  the  government  and  can  be  traced  directly  to  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States. 

"Give  the  people  an  issue.  Declare  in  your  platform 
that: 

"'The  right  of  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  to  de 
mand  and  obtain  work  at  wages  sufficient  to  support 
himself  and  family  shall  never  be  abridged.  It  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  government  to  guarantee  employment 
to  all  who  demand  it.' 

"Radical  and  revolutionary?  It  may  be,  but  it  out 
lines  the  duty  of  the  government  of  to-morrow,  unless 
reason  shall  disappear  from  among  men  and  anarchy 
prevail.  Radical  and  revolutionary?  Do  you  expect- 
to  check  Niagara's  flood  with  a  mud  wall?  Do  you  ex 
pect  to  awaken  the  sluggish  blood  of  the  republic,  viti 
ated  and  poisoned  by  a  century  of  malpractice,  with 
some  such  mild  nostrum  as  an  injection  of  diluted 
silver  or  an  application  of  paper  plasters?  Do  you  be 
lieve  in  magic  and  wands?  The  knife  of  the  surgeon 
and  not  the  incantations  of  the  magician  will  save  the 
life  of  the  government. 

"Give  the  people  an  issue.  Declare  in  your  platform 
that: 

"'The  right  of  the  majority  to  rule  shall  no  longer  be 
abridged.  We  denounce  representative  government  as 
a  failure  and  demand  that  the  people  be  habilitated  in 
the  right  to  elect  what  laws  shall  govern  them.  We 
demand  the  absolute  supremacy  of  the  majority,  from 
whose  decision  no  appeal  shall  be  taken.  We  demand 
the  repeal  of  every  clause  in  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  in  the  constitution  and  laws  of  states, 
counties  and  municipalities,  the  language,  construc 
tion  and  execution  of  which  has  nullitied  the  will  of 


148  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

the  majority  and  made  the  United  States  a  republic 
only  in  name.  We  demand  that  to  the  people  shall  be 
given  a  direct  vote  on  all  important  legislation,  and 
that  all  officers  elected  shall  be  the  servants  of  the  peo 
ple,  subject  at  any  time  to  recall  or  dismissal  and  not, 
as  at  present,  the  masters  of  those  who  created  them.' 
uSuch,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  my  conception  of  a  plat 
form  broad  enough  for  a  party  which  takes  its  name 
from  the  people.  It  is  idle  to  waste  time  and  energy  in 
an  attempt  to  work  out  political  reforms  with  the  ma 
chinery  at  hand.  I  have  a  great  deal  of  respect  for  our 
friend  the  farmer,  who  is  so  numerously  represented 
here  to-day.  He  wants  government  grain  elevators, and, 
being  a  peaceable  citizen  and  a  patriot,  has  faith  in 
what  we  are  pleased  to  term  the  republican  institutions 
of  the  United  States.  He  believes  that  his  prosperity 
would  be  assured  if  the  government  would  issue  him 
grain  certificates  the  same  as  it  has  issued  silver  cer 
tificates.  He  has  a  perfect  right  to  that  belief.  He  has 
been  taught  that  this  is  the  country  in  which  the  ma 
jority  rules,  and  he  has  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
majority  favors  his  proposition.  Now  let  us  see  if  this 
honest,  law-abiding  American  citizen,  with  the  major 
ity  of  the  people  back  of  him,  can  place  one  law  on  the 
statute-books  of  his  country.  A  good  Republican  or 
Democrat, he  spends  ten  years  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to 
have  his  party  make  grain  certificates  a  political  issue. 
He  does  not  control  the  primaries,  he  was  not  built  for 
a  ward  heeler;  he  has  no  political  patronage;  he  is  only 
a  common  voter  against  whose  name  the  secretary  of 
the  campaign  committee  has  marked  R  or  D,  as  the 
case  may  be.  The  politicians  laugh  at  his  request,  but 
he  persists,  and  after  ten  years  leaves  the  party  he  has 
served  so  faithfully  and  attempts  to  build  up  a  new 
one  which  shall  be  in  full  sympathy  with  grain  certifi 
cates.  What  is  arrayed  against  him?  The  combined 
capital  of  the  country,  the  federal,  state  and  municipal 
patronage  of  two  parties,  and,  more  than  that,  the  in 
bred  conservatism  of  the  people  against  a  new  party — 
a  conservatism  which  often  amounts  to  bigotry  and 


THE    PEOPLE    HOLD   A   CONVENTION  149 

ignorance.  He  makes  a  fight  against  these  tremendous 
odds.  The  first  campaign  is  a  failure.  Two  years  later 
a  few  congressmen  are  elected.  Two  years  later  and 
the  new  party  is  a  recognized  power,  and  at  the  subse 
quent  election  the  farmer  has  carried  the  country  by  a 
popular  majority  and  has  captured  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  and  the  presidency.  But  the  Senate  blocks 
the  way.  The  Senate  has  nothing  to  do  with  popular 
majorities.  It  was  designed  for  the  express  purpose 
of  defeating  our  friend,  the  farmer.  It  takes  many 
years  to  dislodge  an  unfavorable  Senate,  but  firm  in 
his  faith  in  representative-government  and  in  the  rule 
of  the  majority,  the  farmer  attacks  the  state  legislatures 
and  wins  a  majority  of  the  Senate.  In  the  meantime  the 
complexion  of  the  lower  house  may  have  changed.  An 
unfriendly  president  may  have  been  elected.  He  vetoes 
the  bill  as  it  comes  from  the  House  and  Senate.  The 
former  must  now  muster  up  a  two-thirds  majority.  If 
he  can  surmount  all  these  obstacles  it  is  a  happy  day  for 
our  persistent  and  patriotic  friend,  the  farmer.  His  faith 
has  never  faltered.  He  celebrates  his  victory,  which  illu 
mines  the  declining  years  of  a  life  spent  in  overcoming  a 
minority.  In  the  midst  of  his  joy  and  while  preparing  io 
enjoy  the  well-earned  fruits  of  his  victory,  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  declares  the  grain  certificate 
bill  unconstitutional,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it.  The  polit 
ical  machine,  the  United  States  Senate,  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  United  States  Supreme 
;1ourt  have  successfully  defeated  the  plainly  expressed 
will  of.  the  people,  I  have  assumed  that  no  money  had 
bean  illegally  used.  If  the  farmers  of  the  United  States 
;ind  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  back  of  them  to-day  it  would  take  them  ten 
v;  ars  to  advance  a  grain  certificate  bill  to  a  presidential 
vwto,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  the  hardest 
kiu;l  of  work  to  obtain  an  adverse  decision  from  the 
Supreme  Court  declaring  grain  certificates  unconstitu 
tional.  The  banking  interests  alone  could  and  would 
defeat  any  bill  inimical  to  their  interests,  no  matter 
how  great  a  majority  of  people  favored  it. 


150  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

"Have  you  faith  in  the  majority  of  the  people?  If 
not  you  should  change  your  name.  Do  you  believe  in 
the  rule  of  the  majority?  If  so  incorporate  that  belief 
in  your  platform.  No  reform  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
people  as  against  active  private  greed  is  possible  under 
the  voting  machinery  and  alleged  representative  system 
of  government  as  provided  by  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

"Too  Jong  have  the  people  of  the  United  States  been 
bound  hand  and  foot  by  a  false  conservatism  and  by  a 
slavish  adhesion  to  obsolete  precedents  and  out-of-date 
customs.  You  are  Americans.  Who  shall  tell  you 
your  duty  as  Americans?  Beware  the  man  who  is  ever 
prating  of  the  patriotic  duties  and  obligations  of 
American  citizenship.  The  first  duty  of  a  citizen  is  to 
his  family  and  his  home.  Next  to  home  and  family  a 
man  should  love  his  country.  But  love  of  country 
transcends  a  blind  devotion  to  the  written  laws  which 
may  be  ingrafted  on  the  statute-books.  I  may  love  my 
country  and  yet  patriotically  hate  laws  which  have 
survived  their  usefulness,  and  may  despise  enactments 
which  corrupt  men  have  passed  for  my  government. 
The  first  duty  of  an  American  citizen  is  to  batter  down 
that  which  threatens  the  life,  liberty  and  happiness  of 
those  who  depend  upon  his  labor. 

"The  people  are  in  no  mood  to  tolerate  class  legisla 
tion.  They  have  had  enough  of  it.  They  have  wit 
nessed  the  building  up  of  monopolies  as  the  result  of 
class  tariff  legislation.  They  are  not  in  a  temper  to  foster 
trade  unionism  at  the  expense  of  the  general  interest. 
They  will  never  consent  to  make  grain  or  silver  the 
foundation  of  a  currency  at  the  expense  of  any  other 
commodity.  It  is  not  good  politics  to  force  such  meas 
ures.  You  cannot  win  if  you  do  force  them.  Even 
with  a  majority  the  undemocratic  machinery  of  exist 
ing  laws  will  defeat  you.  Attack  those  undemocratic 
and  majority-defying  laws.  That  is  good  politics. 
Unforge  the  chains  you  have  aided  in  welding.  In  the 
name  of  the  people  champion  the  rights  of  the  majority. 
You  will  be  opposed  by  every  man,  every  interest,  every 


THE   PEOPLE   HOLD  A  CONVENTION  151 

institution  which  has  reason  to  fear  the  people.  The 
aristocratic  spirit  which  animated  Hamilton  and  which 
impressed  its  hatred  and  fear  of  the  people  in  the  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  still  lives,  and  will  be 
defended  by  argument,  money  and  all  the  weapons  that 
an  existing  plutocracy  can  command.  It  will  be  no 
easy  task  to  overthrow  the  conspiracy  against  the  ma 
jority,  a  conspiracy  which  had  its  origin  among  certain 
of  the  founders  of  this  republic,  men  who  had  no  sym 
pathy  with  popular  government, men  who,  though  cowed 
and  defeated  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  still  loved 
the  monarchical  institutions  of  England  and  were 
powerful  and  crafty  enough  to  force  the  hatred  of  pop 
ular  rights  into  the  warp  and  woof  of  the  constitution 
which  now  governs  us. 

"Boldly  attack  every  word  and  line  bequeathed  us  by 
these  conspirators  against  the  people.  Heed  not  the 
cries  of  'treason'  and  'traitor'  which  will  be  raised 
against  you.  If  it  is  treason  to  advocate  the  rights  of 
the  majority  in  a  republic,  then  I  desire  to  be  adjudged 
guilty  of  treason  and  punished  as  a  traitor. 

"Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  that  the  committee  on  plat 
form  and  resolutions  be  discharged,  their  reports  re 
jected,  and  that  a  new  committee  be  appointed  and  in 
structed  to  draft  and  submit  a  platform  which  shall 
affirm  our  allegiance  to  the  rule  of  the  majority,  our 
eternal  opposition  to  all  laws  which  aim  to  defeat  the 
will  of  the  majority,  and  our  belief  in  the  inalienable 
right  of  a  citizen  at  all  times  to  obtain  employment 
and  compensation." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

JUDGE  JOHN  SMITH  IS  NOMINATED. 

THE  opening  sentence  of  Judge  Smith's  address  was 
greeted  with  cries  of  disapproval.  To  this  he  paid  not 
the  slightest  attention.  As  he  proceeded  the  great 
audience  paid  the  closest  attention,  and  cheers  greeted 
his  declaration  that  every  citizen  of  the  United  States 
was  entitled  to  employment  at  honest  wages.  When  he 
denounced  the  monarchists  who  inspired  the  unrepub- 
lican  clauses  of  the  constitution  and  closed  his  speech 
with  a  bold  appeal  for  radical  action  the  delegates  and 
the  great  audience  gave  cheer  upon  cheer.  The  silver 
men  did  not  abandon  the  fight  without  an  effort,  but 
they  were  no  longer  in  a  majority.  Judge  Smith  had 
given  expression  to  a  thought  which  awoke  a  response 
in  the  heart  of  the  convention.  While  there  were  dele 
gates  who  yet  favored  a  patchwork  platform,  composed 
of  various  selfish  planks,  the  great  body  of  the  conven 
tion  swept  them  aside  and  Judge  Smith's  motion  was 
carried  by  acclamation.  The  chairman  appointed  Judge 
John  Smith  and  a  committee  of  seven  to  prepare  a  plat 
form.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  convention  ratified  a 
platform  in  accord  with  the  views  so  clearly  expressed 
by  Judge  Smith.  The  afternoon  of  July  4,  1900,  Judge 
John  Smith  of  Chicago  was  unanimously  nominated  for 
President  of  the  United  States  by  the  People's  party. 
In  a  conference  with  a  committee  Judge  Smith  was 
tendered  the  nomination,  and  in  the  course  of  the  con 
ference  said : 

:< Gentlemen,  you  have  asked  me  to  accept  an  honor 
which  no  true  American  can  refuse.  If  you  believe  that 
I  am  qualified  to  make  the  campaign,  if  you  are  willing 
that  the  People's  party  shall  stand  sponsor  for  the 

152 


JUDGE   JOHN   SMITH   IS   NOMINATED  153 

radical  and  even  revolutionary  opinions  I  hold  and  shall 
fearlessly  express;  if  I  am  guaranteed  your  earnest 
support  and  unselfish  aid,  you  may  present  my  name 
to  the  convention.  If  nominated  by  a  substantial  ma 
jority  I  will  accept  the  honor  and  the  responsibility 
and  to  the  best  of  my  ability  will  work  for  the  triumph 
of  those  principles  laid  down  in  our  platform." 

Fifty  thousand  people  were  massed  around  the  Coli 
seum  the  closing  day  of  the  convention.  Inside  the 
great  hall  other  thousands  filled  every  available  space 
and  even  encroached  on  the  section  reserved  for  the 
delegates.  In  an  eloquent  speech  General  Warker 
presented  to  the  convention  the  name  of  Judge  John 
Smith  and  amid  tumultuous  applause  said: 

"I  present  to  you  an  American  of  Americans,  in  - 
whose  veins  flows  the  blood  of  an  ancestry  which  fought 
for  American  liberty  before  the  days  of  Washington. 
Born  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  almost  beneath  the 
shadow  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  reared  from  boyhood  in 
an  atmosphere  of  Americanism,  John  Smith  grew  to 
manhood  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  citizenship. 
His  life  has  been  that  of  an  American.  In  early  years 
he  became  imbued  with  an  intense  American  hatred  of 
shams  and  of  hypocrisy.  He  has  lived  long  enough  to 
witness  the  birth  and  development  of  a  moneyed  aris 
tocracy,  an  insolent,  domineering  plutocracy,  with  a 
cry  of  patriotism  ever  on  its  lips  and  its  hands  ever  in 
the  pockets  of  the  people.  He  has  lived  to  see  the  fair 
acres  of  his  native  country  confiscated  by  alien  corpo 
rations,  syndicates  and  speculators.  With  pain  and 
humiliation  he  has  seen  the  majority  of  his  countrymen 
defrauded  by  the  ballot  box  and  the  voice  of  the  people 
stifled  by  organized  rapacity.  Into  his  life  has  come  a 
day  when  the  door  of  the  workshop  has  been  closed 
against  the  mechanic  and  when  the  little  children  have 
pleaded  to  their  parents  in  vain  for  bread,  And  this 
in  America,  a  land  favored  of  God,  the  home  of  the 
free  and  a  haven  for  the  oppressed  of  all  nations.  To 
Judge  John  Smith  the  disiress  of  an  American  commu 
nity,  the  impoverishment  of  a  people  by  panic  or  finan- 


154  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

cial  depression,  is  not  an  economic  phenomenon  to  be 
calmly  studied  and  diagnosed,  but  an  outrage  to  be 
condemned,  a  crime  whose  perpetrators  should  be  ap 
prehended  and  punished. 

UA  scholar  of  splendid  attainments;  a  lawyer  of 
national  fame  and  honor;  a  jurist  whose  decisions 
have  never  been  questioned,  but  whose  sense  of  the  just 
impelled  him  to  retire  from  a  place  where  practice  di 
rected  the  dispensation  of  injustice;  a  man  of  business 
sagacity  and  of  a  considerable  fortune  honestly  ac 
quired;  a  gentleman  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word;  a 
philosopher  whose  breadth  of  mind  is  bounded  by  no 
contracted  horizon;  an  uncompromising  opponent  of 
bigotry  and  prejudice,  a  searcher  and  defender  of 
the  truth — Judge  John  Smith  is  an  ideal  American 
citizen.  Higher  praise  can  be  given  to  no  man.  On 
behalf  of  the  people  of  America  and  in  the  name  of  the 
People's  party  of  the  United  States  I  present  the  name 
of  John  Smith  of  Chicago  and  ask  that  the  nomination 
be  made  by  acclamation." 

A  hundred  men  seconded  the  nomination,  and  in  a 
voice  of  thunder  the  entire  convention  and  audience 
swelled  the  chorus  of  uayes"  when  the  chairman  put 
the  question.  Judge  Smith  was  seated  with  his  dele 
gation.  He  had  smilingly  declined  to  conform  to  the 
usual  custom  of  retiring  to  some  convenient  place  and 
greeting  with  feigned  surprise  the  committee  charged 
with  breaking  the  news.  Escorted  by  the  Illinois  dele 
gation,  Judge  Smith  marched  down  the  aisle  and  to  the 
platform.  When  the  cordial  ovation  had  ceased  Judge 
Smith  addressed  the  chairman  and  said: 

"Early  American  history  is  a  tale  of  hardship,  a 
story  of  peril,  successive  chapters  of  suffering,  and  a 
struggle  against  seemingly  insurmountable  obstacles, 
from  which  struggle  a  sturdy  people  emerged  victorious. 
In  these  colonial  days  the  young  nation  was  ofttimes 
menaced  by  secret  and  open  foes,  but  not  since  the 
pilgrim  fathers  landed  on  American  soil  has  so  great  a 
danger  menaced  the  people  as  that  which  confronts 
them  to-day.  The  fathers  of  America,  tbe  pioneers 


JUDGE  JOHN   SMITH  IS  NOMINATED  155 

whose  ashes  DOW  peacefully  rest  in  the  beautiful  valleys) 
of  New  England,  had  escaped  from  despotism  and  their 
veins  thrilled  with  that  exhilaration  which  comes  with 
newly  acquired  liberty.  They  were  free  men,  and  they 
transmitted  to  their  children  a  heritage  grander  than 
that  bequeathed  by  kings.  That  heritage  has  been  lost. 

"I  have  sometimes  thought  that  only  the  slave  can 
appreciate  freedom.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that 
the  king-ridden  peasants  of  England  who  fled  to  this 
country  were  the  only  Americans  who  ever  tasted  and 
appreciated  liberty.  What  does  the  child  of  to-day 
know  of  freedom?  What  has  become  of  the  heritage 
left  by  the  pioneer  founders  of  America? 

"The  history  of  America  is  a  history  of  the  decadence 
of  liberty.  Its  pages  tell  the  story  of  how  a  birthright 
was  lost.  Its  chapters  mark  the  annals  by  which  a 
republic  faded  into  an  aristocracy — an  aristocracy  not 
of  position,  title  or  heredity,  but  of  nfoney.  The 
gloom  of  this  history  is  relieved  by  pages  which  glow 
with  the  inspiring  story  of  a  re-awakening  of  the  in 
born  spirit  of  liberty — a  spirit  which  crushed  for  a 
time  the  strength  of  aristocracy  in  1776,  and  which 
asserted  itself  again  in  1861. 

"The  revolution  of  1776  was  inspired  by  grievances 
and  abuses  which  would  pass  unnoticed  to-day.  But  the 
people  of  1776  had  not  lost  the  notion  of  liberty.  The 
slow  encroachments  of  England  and  the  growing  influ 
ence  of  a  tory  aristocracy  had  dulled  their  conception 
of  liberty,  but  had  by  no  means  destroyed  it.  They 
were  a  handful  of  people  skirting  the  Atlantic  coast 
with  few  resources  useful  in  war,  but  they  defeated 
Great  Britain,  the  most  powerful  nation  in  the  world, 
and  sacrificed  their  lives  and  property  rather  than  sub 
mit  to  a  few  trifling  exactions  which  to-day  are  toler 
ated  without  a  murmur.  They  had  been  taxed  with 
out  representation.  Why,  for  years  the  American  peo 
ple  have  been  taxed  and  robbed  out  of  more  money 
than  the  entire  property  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was 
worth — taxed  billions  of  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  home 
and  foreign  tariff  barons,  and  the  tax  is  imposed  to-day 


156  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  successive  elections  the  peo 
pie  have  declared  by  emphatic  majorities  against  a 
continuance  of  this  robbery.  The  men  of  1776,  witn^ 
their  peevish  notions  about  rights  and  liberty,  would 
be  denounced  as  anarchists  if  they  lived  to-day.  They 
would  be  invited  to  leave  this  country  if  they  did  not 
like  it,  and  reviled  in  all  manner  of  terms  if  they  talked 
of  fighting  for  such  ridiculous  things  as  they  termed 
'their  rights.'  Not  so  in  1776.  They  fought  and  they 
won.  We  are  proud  of  the  revolutionists  and  glad  to 
trace  our  ancestry  back  to  our  fighting  forefathers. 
What  would  Patrick  Henry,  Benjamin  Franklin, George 
Washington,  General  Stark,  General  Warren  and  the 
patriots  of  1776— what  would  that  illustrious  body  of 
freemen  think  of  a  modern  United  States  Senate,  of  a 
Carnegie  syndicate,  a  Homestead  riot,  and  a  Hocking 
Valley,  with  thousands  of  starving  families?  What 
would  they  think  of  5,000,000  men  out  of  work? 
What  would  they  think  of  a  panic,  of  a  period  of  de 
pression  on  account  of  an  overproduction  of  wealth? 
What  would  they  think  of  a  people  who  would  tamely 
submit  to  corruption  in  high  places,  to  the  sale  of  their 
streets  to  the  highest  bidder,  to  the  gift  of  consulships 
in  consideration  of  checks  for  $50,000?  Would  they 
revolt  because  their  children  were  starving  or  would 
they  meekly  accept  the  crust  which  charity  offered 
them?  These  questions  need  no  answer.  The  spirit 
of  1776  is  dead.  It  did  not  survive  the  close  of  the 
revolution  long  enough  to  protect  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1787  against  the  plottings  of  English 
toryism  and  an  aping  American  aristocracy.  Liberty 
slumbered  in  the  breasts  of  the  American  people  until 
human  slavery  had  dragged  its  loathsome  form  almost 
across  the  continent.  Then  there  came  to  the  common 
people  of  the  north  a  resurrection  of  the  spirit  of  the 
forefathers,  a  revival  of  the  days  of  1776.  Under  that 
inspiration  they  fought  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  the  freeing  of  the  slave,  the  glory  of  the  repub 
lic^ 
"With  the  close  of  the  war  commercialism  strength- 


The  real  socialist  and  the  newspaper  idea  of  the  socialist. 

157 


I 


JUDGE   JOHN   SMITH  IB  NOMINATED  159 

ened  its  grasp  on  a  country  weakened  in  the  protracted 
struggle.  Slowly,  surely  and  insidiously  a  new  slavery 
has  enthralled  a  people — a  wage  slavery  infinitely  worse 
than  that  of  human  bondage.  Brave  soldiers,  upon 
whose  bodies  ara  honorable  scars,  received  in  battle  for 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  are  to-day  in  a  bondage  com 
pared  with  which  the  old  slave  days  of  the  south  seem 
as  a  pleasant  memory, 

"This  is  no  figure  of  speech,  no  phantasy  of  words. 
It  is  a  fact,  a  hideous  reality.  A  nation  has  drifted 
into  slavery.  The  crack  of  the  slave-driver's  whip  is 
cringingly  obeyed  by  ignoble  slaves.  The  cruel  mandates 
of  the  slave-owner  are  executed  without  a  murmur  of 
revolt  from  the  white  slaves  of  the  republic. 

"American  liberty  1  American  freemen  I  The  free- 
born  American  citizen  I  The  spirit  of  American  insti 
tutions!  What  mean  these  phrases? 

"Words  with  which  to  conjure  the  masses.  Soft 
platitudes  with  which  to  flatter  dupes.  Meaningless 
terms  which  tickle  the  ears  of  fool  slaves,  who  hug  to 
their  breasts  the  delusion  of  liberty  and  tamely  submit 
to  the  lash. 

"What  is  the  picture  drawn  for  your  edification  of 
the  free-born  American  citizen?  A  stalwart,  bearded 
workman  in  the  full  vigor  of  a  splendid  manhood;  the 
protector  of  a  fair  wife  and  the  father  of  happy  chil 
dren.  He  is  an  honest  workman  who  looks  every  one  full 
in  the  face  and  fears  no  man.  He  is  a  sovereign  free 
man,  owning  allegiance  only  to  his  country  and  to  his 
God.  Favors  he  asks  of  no  man.  With  his  strong  arms 
and  clean  brain  he  can  wrest  from  nature  her  wealth 
and  secrets  and  bestow  them  upon  his  children.  A 
hater  of  tyrants  and  tyranny,  a  lover  of  law  and  order, 
and  a  respecter  of  rights  of  all  men.  Ever  jealous  of 
his  rights,  watching  with  vigilance  any  encroachment 
upon  his  liberties,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  take  up 
arms  in  defense  of  his  home,  his  family  or  his  country. 
Independent,  fearless,  honest  and  ever  industrious — 
such  is  the  picture  drawn  of  the  free-born  American 
citizen.  Such  was  the  American  citizen  of  the  long 


160  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

ago.  What  is  he  to-day?  Let  me  sketch  a  typical  Ameri 
can  citizen  of  to-day. 

"He  is  a  workman  in  a  great  city.  Factory  labor 
has  bent  his  shoulders  and  dimmed  his  eye.  He  lives 
in  a  rented  house,  and  only  yesterday  the  landlord 
handed  the  trembling  wife  a  five  days'  notice  to  vacate 
the  premises.  He  is  out  of  employment.  For  three 
weeks  he  has  been  begging  for  work.  The  factories  are 
closed — his  fellow  workmen  and  companions  are  power 
less  to  lend  him  aid.  The  scant  hoard  saved  from  ir 
regular  toil  has  been  exhausted.  He  is  skilled  in  his 
craft  and  only  asks  to  be  allowed  the  use  of  his  hands 
and  brain,  But  it  is  a  period  of  hard  times.  What 
shall  he  do?  Take  a  farm  in  the  undeveloped  west? 
He  knows  nothing  of  farming,  and  there  is  no  unde 
veloped  west.  An  agent  of  a  charitable  institution  calls 
at  his  home.  The  good  wife  suppresses  a  sigh,  looks  at 
the  hungry  children,  swallows  her  pride  and  accepts 
with  thanks  the  food  that  willing  hands  cannot  earn. 
He  is  a  fr^e-born  American  citizen  He  is  a  voter.  He 
is  one  of  the  nation's  sovereigns  He  is  an  honest  man. 
He  is  a  slave. 

"Another  picture.  He  is  a  farmer.  While  yet  the 
nation's  lands  had  not  been  absorbed  by  railroad  and 
land  syndicates  he  pre-empted  1(30  acres  of  fertile  land. 
As  years  pass  by  he  sees  the  price  of  his  grain  decrease. 
He  is  robbed  by  railroad  pools,  fleeced  by  elevator  syn 
dicates,  and  upon  the  product  of  his  labor  speculators 
fatten.  An  iniquitous  tariff  system  enhances  the  price 
of  every  article  necessity  compels  him  to  purchase.  In 
order  to  meet  his  obligations  his  wife  becomes  a  drudge, 
and  his  children  work  on  the  farm  instead  of  going  to 
school.  A  failure  of  his  crop  plunges  him  into  debt. 
He  is  in  the  mesh  from  which  there  is  no  escape.  In 
a  few  years  the  mortgage  is  foreclosed.  He  is  now  a 
tenant  farmer,  a  shade  above  a  Russian  serf.  There 
are  8,000,000  such  farmers  in  the  United  States.  They 

[e  American    citizens.     They   are    honest    workmen. 
ff  are  voters,  and  they  are  slaves. 
Another  picture.  He  is  a  merchant — a  small  trades- 


•JUDGE   JOHN   SMITH   IS  NOMINATED  161 

man.  From  his  wages  as  a  mechanic  he  has  saved, 
enough  to  start  in  business  on  a  small  scale.  He  is 
honest  in  his  dealings  with  men.  In  fairly  prosperous 
times  he  has  enlarged  his  store,  devoting  his  profits  to 
that  ^irpose.  A  panic  comes.  Factories  close  and  his 
trade  decreases.  Workmen  customers  remain  away  or 
obtain  credit.  Rent  continues  and  bills  for  goods  fall 
due.  The  sheriff  nails  a  notice  over  the  door,  and  at 
the  auction  sale  the  agent  of  a  great  down- town  store 
buys  the  goods  for  a  trifle.  The  execution  is  satisfied 
and  the  merchant  is  ruined.  Not  from  any  fault  of  his 
own.  He  is  a  free  American  citizen,  but  a  slave.  His 
number  is  myriad.  To  whom  are  these  men  slaves? 
They  are  slaves  to  themselves.  They  are  slaves  to  a 
system  which  they  have  helped  fortify  and  which  they 
have  the  power  to  overthrow. 

"The  people  are  enslaved  because  they  deserve  to  be 
enslaved.  Slavery  is  the  natural  condition  for  a  peo 
ple  who  have  lost  the  very  idea  of  what  constitutes 
liberty.  Men  who  will  tamely  submit  to  idleness, 
hunger  and  poverty,  and  accept  it  as  a  dispensation  of 
Providence  have  never  tasted  liberty.  The  future  has 
nothing  to  hope  for  from  such  men.  Liberty  can  count 
no  defenders  in  their  ranks.  History  records  the 
sufferings  and  the  death  of  men  who  have  devoted  their 
lives  to  liberty  and  to  the  people,  but  no  band  of 
patriots  ever  slavishly  starved  in  the  name  of  their 
country  and  for  their  country's  good. 

"The  slave  must  ever  be  freed;  he  cannot,  he  will  i 
not  free  himself.  Slavery  finds  some  of  its  most  earnest 
champions  among  the  slaves.  In  the  armies  of  the  south 
in  the  late  rebellion  were  found  many  black  men  will 
ing  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  defense  of  a  system  which 
held  them  in  bondage.  A  few  negroes  fought  in  the 
ranks  of  blue  and  fought  nobly,  but  the  great  mass 
remained  dormant  and  took  only  a  passive  interest  in 
the  battle  for  their  freedom  which  was  waging  around  I 
them.  They  had  been  born  slaves  and  taught  that  such  ' 
was  their  natural  condition.  Their  masters  had  quoted  \ 
them  passages  from  the  Scriptures  upholding  the  insti- 


162  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

tution  of  slavery  and   they  accepted   their  lot  without 
question. 

"Thus  it  is  to-day.  The  poor  are  taught  and  repeat 
to  each  other  that  'poverty  is  no  crime,'  that  'some 
must  be  poor  and  some  must  be  rich.'  They  ai«  con 
soled  by  the  Scriptures.  Christ's  saying,  'The  poor  ye 
have  always  with  you,'  is  distorted  into  a  divine  ap 
proval  of  poverty.  They  are  taught  to  believe  that 
there  is  consolation  in  the  fact  that  it  is  'easier  for 
a  camel  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  and  are 
coddled  into  a  belief  that  earthly  misery  and  suffering 
paves  the  way  for  an  early  entrance  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  An  insult  to  the  -intelligence  of  the  Supreme 
Being!  The  industrial  slave  takes  a  foolish  pride  in 
the  increasing  affluence  of  his  master.  From  afar  off 
he  is  content  to  gaze  at  the  splendor  of  his  establish 
ment.  He  is  elated  at  a  passing  glance  from  a  factory 
lord,  and  a  nod  of  recognition  from  a  millionaire  fills 
his  simple  heart  with  joy.  Is  this  an  overdrawn  pict 
ure?  No.  It  but  faintly  portrays  an  obseqiousness, 
a  smirking  humility,  which  has  developed  in  the  last 
twenty  years  and  more  clearly  than  anything  else  indi 
cates  the  decadence  of  the  proud  spirit  of  equality  and 
independence  which  once  marked  the  citizen  of  the 
American  republic.  Show  me  an  act  of  tyranny  in  the 
last  generation  at  which  thousands  of  its  victims  have 
not  arisen  and  defended  it!  Point  to  an  act  of  oppres 
sion  and  usurpation  in  which  the  oppressed  and  down 
trodden  have  not  kissed  the  hand  which  smote  them! 

"Unscrupulous  men  have  taken  advantage  of  the 
growing  servility  of  the  American  people.  Outrages 
against  the  people  were  committed  in  1850  which 
would  have  been  avenged  in  blood  in  1800.  National 
disgrace  and  scandal  were  glossed  over  in  1870  which 
would  have  plunged  a  nation  into  war  in  1850.  Crimes 
against  the  people  were  sanctioned,  maintained  by  a 
form  of  law,  and  only  feebly  apologized  for  in  1893  which 
in  the  earlier  years  of  our  national  life  would  not  have 
been  attempted,  much  less  tolerated  for  a  single  day, 


JUDGE   JOHN   SMITH  IS  NOMINATED  168 

"The  American  people  have  been  criminally  patient. 
Patience  with  oppression  and  injustice  is  not  a  virtue 
but  a  crime — a  crime  whose  penalty  is  national  death. 

"Delegates  of  the  people,  from  out  of  the  free  prairies 
of  the  west  a  breeze  is  wafting,  which  with  the  coming 
of  the  dawn  shall  pile  into  fantastic  shapes  the  now 
obscuring  clouds.  The  rising  sun  shall  tinge  their  edges 
with  beauty  until,  like  some  enchanted  dungeon,  they 
shall  scatter  and  melt  into  nothingness  before  the  eyes 
of  men.  Truth  is  not  dead ;  reason  is  not  dead.  Not  until 
you  blot  from  the  human  race  the  attributes  of  reason 
and  truth  shall  liberty  forever  disappear. 

"The  battle  must  be  fought  and  won  by  those  who 
yet  are  free.  Into  their  hands  has  been  intrusted  the 
fate  of  a  nation  founded  by  free  men.  The  works  of 
the  enemy  are  not  so  formidable  as  they  appear.  Be 
fore  the  coming  onslaught  the  already  disorganized 
ranks  of  plutocracy  will  break  and  run. 

"The  time  in  which  we  live  may  be  designated  as  the 
mechanical  age.  It  had  its  birth  in  the  years  between 
1800  and  1820  and  reached  its  highest  development  in 
the  period  of  1870-90.  Inventions  will  be  made  in  the 
future,  but  as  an  era  distinct  in  the  progress  of  civili 
zation  the  mechanical  is  already  on  the  decline,  and 
this  gray  old  world  is  awaiting  the  advent  of  another 
and  a  grander  epoch  of  progress.  The  mechanical  age 
will  make  way  for  the  age  of  government. 

"Hail  to  the  coming  age,  the  grandest  in  the  history 
of  civilization!  For  centuries  man  devoted  his  energies 
to  war.  The  earth  shook  with  the  tread  of  armies  and 
her  soil  drank  deep  of  the  blood  of  contending  hosts. 
The  age  of  war  reached  its  culmination  in  the  eighteenth 
century, and  with  the  growing  years  of  the  next  century 
went  into  decline.  The  mechanical  age  forever  checked 
war.  It  perfected  death-dealing  instruments;  it  made 
the  destruction  of  hurhan  life  a  science.  War  became 
impossible.  Nations  dared  not  go  to  war.  A  battle 
meant  death  to  nearly  all  engaged.  War  had  become 
a  science  and  it  disappeared.  The  age  of  competition — 
the  era  of  commercial  activity  and  the  struggle  for 


164  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

business  supremacy  followed.  Competition  became  a 
science  and  it  disappeared  in  the  mechanical  age.  War 
was  dead, competition  was  dead,  man  was  half-starving, 
but  the  machine  survived. 

"Great  was  the  machine.  Tt  supplanted  man,  de 
throned  labor  and  ruled  the  world.  Everywhere  there 
was  heard  the  whixziug  of  belts  and  pulleys  and  the 
ceaseless  clatter  of  tireless  metal.  When  the  machine 
stopped  the  pulse  of  the  nation  beat  slowly;  when  the 
wheels  again  revolved  men  went  about  with  smiling 
faces.  Great  was  the  machine.  By  it  nature  had  been 
subjugated  and  man  enslaved.  The  enslaving  of  man 
was  not  primarily  the  fault  of  the  machine,  but  was  a 
logical  outcome  of  attempting  to  harmonize  the  scien 
tific  with  the  unscientific.  The  machine  was  scientific? 
Its  environment,  the  government,  was  crude  and  un 
scientific.  In  the  language  of  a  great  philosopher,  the 
introduction  of  modern  machinery  into  the  govern 
mental  conditions  of  to-day  is  like  placing  a  triple  ex 
pansion  marine  engine  in  one  of  the  old  wooden  hulks 
built  by  the  shipbuilders  of  a  vanished  generation.  The 
engine  was  perfect,  but  the  combination  was  disastrous. 
The  powerful  throbbing  of  the  engine  is  fast  shattering 
the  feeble  and  rotten  walls  of  the  old  hulk, and  the  water 
is  pouring  into  the  hold  and  the  crew  is  in  peril.  The 
fault  is  not  with  the  machine,  but  with  the  old  hulk — 
the  government.  Run  the  old  hulk  into  dry  dock,  take 
out  the  magnificent  engine  and  place  it  where  it  be 
longs,  in  an  environment  fitted  to  stand  the  strain  of 
a  mechanical  age. 

"The  age  of  government  is  the  coming  age.  Progress 
has  touched  with  its  magic  wand  every  science  and  art 
but  that  of  government.  Music,  poetry,  philosophy, 
war,  medicine,  literature,  astronomy,  mechanics,  navi 
gation  have  progressed  with  the  advancing  years.  Gov 
ernment — the  grandest  study  of  man — lias  alone  re 
pelled  the  aid  of  science  and  with  its  eyes  fixed  on  the 
past  and  its  ears  deaf  to  the  higher  activities  of  the 
present,  exists  among  men  to-day,  grotesque,  antique, 
incongruous.  There  is  no  applied  science  of  government. 


JUDGE   JOHN    SMITH   IS   NOMINATED  165 

Where  science  and  precision  should  prevail  superstition 
and  precedent  hold  sway.  Modern  government  is  a 
patchwork,  handed  down  from  an  age  of  kings  and  of 
wars,  for  the  observance  of  a  people  who  hate  kings 
and  wars. 

uln  the  future  years  earth's  greatest  heroes  shall  be 
its  gifted  lawgivers.  Government  will  not  become  per 
fect  from  a  multiplicity  of  laws,  but  the  nation  will 
prosper  in  proportion  to  the  wisdom  displayed  by  the 
people  in  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  just  and 
simple  Jaws.  Government  can  never  be  an  exact  science. 
The  wisdom  of  one  generation  is  not  sufficient  to  draft 
laws  for  a  future  it  cannot  read  or  whose  changed  con 
dition  it  cannot  comprehend.  No  age  is  empowered  to 
enact  an  unalterable  law.  None  but  the  criminally 
egotistic  arrogate  to  themselves  the  attribute  of  in 
fallibility.  A  true  government  is  one  which  profits  by 
the  lessons  of  the  past,  governs  for  the  people  of  to-day, 
and  erects  no  bars  for  the  generation  of  to-morrow. 

"Such  is  the  government  of  the  future,  and  in  that 
day  slavery  will  be  dead  and  man  shall  live.  In  that 
cause  I  concentrate  my  energies  and  my  life.  Dele 
gates  of  the  people,  I  accept  the  responsibility  you  have 
reposed  in  me.  Let  us  bury  the  past  and  lift  our  eyes 
to  the  future.  Hail  to  the  people!  Hail  to  the  com 
ing  age— the  age  of  government!" 

The  ticket  was  completed  by  the  nomination  of  Frank 
M.  Brewster  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  as  Vice-President. 
Brewster  was  an  editor  of  ability  and  an  orator  eloquent 
;md  convincing. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PRESS   COMMENTS. 

THE  press  greeted  the  work  of  the  convention  and 
Judge  John  Smith's  nomination  with  comments, -of 
which  the  following  are  fairly  representative: 

UA  remarkable  speech  before  a  remarkable  conven 
tion."—^.  Paul  Globe, 

"Judge  Smith's  speech  was  a  strange  mingling  of 
rare  common  sense  and  rank  socialism." — New  York 
Sun. 

"The  platform  has  the  merit  of  brevity.  It  will  be 
popular  with  those  who  believe  that  the  world  owes  them 
a  living,  but  is  repugnant  to  the  sturdy  good  sense  of  the 
average  American." — St.^Louis  Globe-Democrat. 

"At  last  the  Smith  family  has  been  recognized. 
Judge  John  Smith  seems  to  possess  the  hard-headed 
common  sense  of  the  Smiths  and  the  inborn  courage  of 
an  American  who  dares  tell  the  truth.  Recalls  a  spade 
a  spade,  and  the  subjugation  of  the  majority  a  crime. 
On  this  issue  tho  American  people  are  with  him." — 
New  York  Recorder. 

" Judge  Smith's  attack  upon  the  Democratic  party  is 
unwarranted.  The  Democratic  party  has  always  stood 
for  the  people  as  against  the  encroachment  of  a  moneyed 
aristocracy.  The  people  will .  conserve  their  own  in 
terests  by  letting  Smith  and  all  such  agitators  severely 
alone. " — Atlanta  Constitution. 

"The  People's  party  has  drifted  into  socialism.  It 
has  affirmed  its  belief  in  the  odious  theory  of  paternal 
ism  in  government.  Judge  Smith  is  a  radical,  who 
disguises  his  socialism  with  a  pretense  of  Americanism. 
The  trouble  with  this  country  is  not  a  lack  but  a  super 
fluity  of  laws!"— New  York  World. 

166 


PRESS   COMMENTS  167 

"The  platform  ignores  the  tariff,  free  silver,  green 
backs  and  wild-cat  money,  and  all  the  old  issues  which 
have  been  flailed  until  the  straw  is  pulverized.  It  con 
fines  itself  to  an  affirmation  of  a  belief  in  the  right  of 
the  majority  to  rule  and  the  right  of  a  citizen  to  de 
mand  and  obtain  work.  This  is  a  new  departure  in 
politics  and  one  which  will  be  watched  with  interest." 
— Pittsburg  Despatch. 

"Judge  John  Smith  is  a  politician.  He  is  enough 
of  a  politician  to  take  advantage  of  an  issue  which  the 
people  have  been  demanding  for  years  and  which  the 
old  parties,  engrossed  in  the  struggle  for  spoils,  have 
ignored.  The  right  of  the  majority  to  rule  was  affirmed 
in  the  declaration  of  independence  and  ignored  by  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  People's  party 
may  not  go  to  victory  on  this  issue,  but  they  have  done 
the  country  a  service  by  forcing  it  to  the  fore." — Kan 
sas  City  Star. 

"Judge  Smith's  speech  was  the  rant  of  a  socialistic 
demagogue  who  is  shrewd  enough  to  take  advantage  of 
temporary  hard  times.  The  people  of  this  country  are 
not  demanding  paternalism  with  its  state  penitentiary 
system  of  work  and  compensation.  In  spite  of  Smith 
and  other  calamity  howlers  the  people  rule — ever  have 
and  ever  will.  His  tirade  against  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  comes  with  poor  grace  from  a  man 
whom  the  people  of  Chicago  once  honored  with  an 
election  as  judge.  It  is  little  short  of  treason." — 
Chicago  Tribune. 

"When  Judge  Smith  declared  that  the  right  of  the 
majority  to  govern  has  been  lost  he  told  the  truth,  and 
he  told  it  well.  All  the  platitudes  of  professional 
patriots  and  self-styled  Americans  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding,  the  constitution  of  this  country  does 
not  guarantee  the  rule  of  the  majority  of  the  people. 
The  performances  of  the  Senate  in  recent  years  should 
bo  sufficient  to  prove  this  statement  to  intelligent  men. 
This  issue  must  be  met.  Abuse,  lyir^g,  subterfuge,  and 
cheers  for  the  old  flag  will  not  prevail  against  cold, 
hard  facts.  The  majority  do  not  rule;  honest,  willing 


168  '     PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

men  are  denied  work.  The  majority  must  rule;  the 
right  of  men  to  work  must  be  granted.  "—Baltimore 
American. 

"The  platform  is  an  open  attack  upon  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States.  The  reforms  which  Judge 
Smith  and  his  adherents  propose  can  be  accomplished 
only  by  the  practical  repeal  of  the  fundamental  clauses 
of  that  document.  This  issue  is  made  plain.  The  con 
test  is  to  be  between  those  who  believe  in  the  perpetuity 
of  American  institutions  as  bequeathed  us  by  Washing 
ton  and  Jefferson  and  those  who  have  lost  faith  in  the 
republic  and  seek  its  overthrow.  There  can  be  but  one 
outcome.  Fanaticism  will  be  defeated  and  the  republic 
will  live." — Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

"Does  the  majority  rule?  Have  the  American  peo 
ple  been  deluded  into  a  belief  that  the  republic  is  in 
reality  but  a  sham?  Has  a  citizen  an  unalienable  right 
to  demand  and  obtain  work?  These  are  questions  which 
must  be  answered.  Judge  John  Smith,  the  Populist 
candidate  for  the  presidency,  speaks  in  no  uncertain 
tone  upon  these  issues.  He  denounces  representative 
government  as  a  failure  and  declares  that  the  people 
can  assert  themselves  only  by  a  direct  vote  on  all  great 
public  questions.  This  is  not  a  novel  idea,  but  is 
presented  in  a  new  light.  The  Campaign  will  be  unique 
in  the  history  of  politics." — Omaha  World-Herald. 

"The  sober  sense  of  the  American  workman  will  re 
pudiate  the  Populist  platform.  His  salvation  lies  not 
in  an  assurance  of  governmental  protection  and  work, 
but  in  the  tearing  down  of  the  tariff  wall,  which  denies 
him  a  chance  to  work  in  those  industries  which  should 
compete  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  The  Democratic 
party  is  pledged  to  the  destruction  of  that  tariff,  and 
a  little  patience  on  the  part  of  the  people  is  all  that  is 
needed.  Nothing  will  be  gained  by  a  support  of  the 
radical  and  even  revolutionary  doctrines  advanced  by 
Judge  Smith  and  affirmed  in  the  platform  of  his 
party. " — Louisville  Courier-Journal. 

"Mark  Kimbly  and  not  Judge  John  Smith  is  the  true 
friend  of  the  American  workmen.  Smith  has  sullied 


PRESS  COMMENTS  169 

his  fame  as  a  judge  and  developed  into  a  dangerous 
agitator  with  the  temerity  to  attack  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States.  In  the  coming  election  the 
American  workman  will  repudiate  the  Hilds  and  the 
Smiths  and  the  other  enemies  of  protection  for  Ameri 
can  workmen  and  American  homes.  The  twin  foes  of 
American  workmen  are  free  trade,  represented  by  Hild 
and  the  Democracy,  and  anarchy,  as  represented  by 
Smith  and  the  Populists.  Hurrah  for  Kimbly  and 
the  old  flag!  Down  with  anarchy  and  up  with  the 
stars!" — Chicago  Inter  Ocean. 

"In  a  country  where  every  American  citizen  is  a 
sovereign  voter  and  a  free  man  there  is  no  room  for 
men  like  Judge  Smith.  The  government  which  pro 
duced  a  Washington,  a  Jefferson,  a  Lincoln,  a  Grant 
and  a  Garfield  cannot  be  destroyed  by  any  crank  or  set 
of  cranks  howling  about  majority  rule.  There  is  plenty 
of  work  in  this  country  for  men  who  want  work.  There 
is  no  room  for  loafers  and  agitators  who  seek  to  make 
capital  out  of  the  temporary  financial  distress  of  the 
community.  If  Judge  Smith  and  his  colleagues  do  not 
like  this  country  they  are  at  liberty*to  get  out  of  it."— 
St.  Paul  Pioneer-Press. 

"There  is  the  true  ring  of  Americanism  in  Judg^ 
Smith's  speech  accepting  the  people's  nomination  for 
the  presidency.  He  is  an  American  citizen  of  a  sturdy 
type  and  is  not  afraid  to  denounce  tyranny  whei- 
ever  he  finds  it.  When  Judge  Smith  declares  that 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States  has  fostered  and 
perpetuated  the  rule  of  the  minority  he  says  what 
every  Democrat  and  every  honest  man  knows  to  be 
true.  If  a  belief  in  the  rights  and  rule  of  the  majority 
is  socialism  the  great  mass  of  the  American  people  are 
socialists.  Judge  Smith  has  given  the  people  an  issue 
which  must  be  met.  He  has  cleared  the  political  at 
mosphere  and  the  situation  stands  plainly  revealed. 
He  has  done  what  the  Democratic  party  should  have 
done  years  ago — affirmed  faith  in  the  intelligence  of 
the  majority.  The  fact  is  that  both  the  Republican 
and  the  Democratic  parties  are  under  the  control  of 


170  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

men  who  fear  the  people.  They  will  be  found  among 
the  stanchest  defenders  of  a  political  system  which  in 
theory  is  founded  on  the  will  of  the  people,  but  which 
in  reality  holds  them  firmly  in  check.  Under  existing 
conditions  the  reign  of  the  majority  is  a  myth;  a  legend 
told  by  designing  demagogues  and  listened  and  heeded 
by  gullible  voters.  Unless  it  shall  become  a  reality 
American  liberty  is  forever  lost.  THE  TIMES  will  sup 
port  Judge  John  Smith  for  the  presidency  and  predicts 
a  victory  which  will  sweep  from  power  the  enemies  of 
majority  rule  and  inaugurate  the  reign  of  the  people." 
— Kansas  City  Times. 

In  the  short  limits  of  this  book  it  is  impossible  to 
give  an  extended  account  of  the  presidential  campaign 
of  1900.  Tt  was  waged  with  extreme  bitterness.  The 
Republicans  and  Democrats  fought  on  the  familiar  old 
party  lines,  varied  only  by  an  increased  attention  to 
the  third  party.  As  the  campaign  progressed  the  Pop 
ulists  made  astonishing  inroads  on  the  strength  of  the 
old  parties.  Judge  Smith  confined  himself  entirely  to 
the  large  cities  and  addressed  immense  audiences  of 
business  and  working  men.  The  accession  to  his  ranks 
seemed  divided  almost  equally  between  both  parties 
and  both  claimed  the  advantage.  During  the  campaign 
there  was  little  change  in  the  business  situation.  Some 
factories  were  running  on  half  time  and  wages  steadily 
decreased  in  spite  of  the  activity  of  the  unions,  whose 
discipline  was  threatened  and  eventually  ruined  by  the 
long-continued  hard  times.  Members  with  large  families 
rebelled  against  remaining  idle  part  of  the  time  for  the 
common  benefit  of  the  unions  and  desertion  became 
common.  Employers  took  advantage  of  this  growing 
feeling  of  dissatisfaction  among  trade  unionists  and  as 
a  result  a  series  of  strikes  followed.  The  summer  of 
1899  witnessed  the  practical  disruption  of  the  trade 
union  movement.  A  writer  in  a  New  York  magazine 
tli us  summed  up  the  causes  which  led  to  the  downfall 
of  that  stupendous  organization  of  workmen: 

TRADE    UNIONISM    IS    DEAD. 

1  "Hunger  is  stronger  than  discipline.     Men  will  face 


PRESS   COMMENTS 

the  black  muzzles  of  cannon  without  a  quiver,  but  will 
tremble  and  cower  before  the  wail  of  a  hungry  chil<~ 
The  trade  union  movement  reached  its  height  in 
It   enrolled  as  its  membership  practically  all  the  wage 
toilers  of  the  nation.    In  the  boom  incident  to  the  war 
scare  there  was  work  for  all.  The  panic  which  followed 
did  not  disorganize  the  ranks.     They  apportioned  the 
work  among  the  members,  and  for  over  a  year  main 
tained  their  ranks  unbroken   against   the  forces  of  in 
dustrial  depression.    But  hunger  is  a  relentless  enemy?\ 
He  works  in  the  weary  hours  of  the  night  and  gnaws  at  \ 
the  vitals  of  his  victims,  silent  and  insatiate.     Hunger    j 
has  won.     The  trade  union  has  fallen.    The  arguments   j 
of  industrial  economy   fell   powerless   on   ears   which  J 
could  not  resist  the  pleadings  of  half-starved  children^ 
At  first  there  were  a  few  desertions.  Then  men  refused 
to  work  with  the  deserters  and  a  strike  followed,  the 
employers  declaring  their  intention  of  repudiating  their 
agreement  with  the  unions  and  employing  whom  they 
pleased  at  prices  mutually  satisfactory  to   those  who 
accepted  work.    They  justified  this  policy  by  the  state 
ment  that  alternate  periods  of  work  and  idleness  less 
ened   the   skill   of  the   workmen.     The  temptation  to 
secure  steady  employment  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted. 
One   concern   after   another   adopted  the  steady  work 
system,  and  had  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  deserters 
from" the  ranks  of  the  unions.     The  faithful  members 
saw  their   places   filled    by   those   whom   hunger   had 
weakened.  The  defection  became  a  stampede  and  trade 
unionism  was  doomed.     Probably  55   per  cent  of  the 
former  members  are  now  at  work.     Their  positions  are 
threatened  by  the  unemployed  45  per  cent,  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  bid  against  the  employed  and  find  justifica 
tion  in  the  fact  that  the  latter  were  traitors  against  a 
system  which  insured  at  least  a  pittance  for  all.   Under 
this  fierce  competition  wages  are  tending  lower,  and 
have  already  reached  a  point  where  the  man  who  now 
works  full  time  receives  about  the  same  as  he  did  when 
networked  half  time.     It  is  noteworthy  that  in  spite  of 
this  decided  decrease  in  the  wage  fund  the  priee  of 


PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

manufactured  products  has  not  appreciably  decreased, 
although  there  is  a  constantly  diminishing  demand  for 
the  products  of  factory  and  mill." 

No  other  result  could  have  been  expected.  The  trade 
union  stood  alone,  as  a  barrier  against  that  competi 
tion  which,  unrestrained,  inevitably  forced  wages  down 
to  a  point  where  men  would  consent  to  work — the  star 
vation  line.  That  is  the  iron  law  of  wages.  Under  a 
competitive  system  in  which  the  workers  exceed  the 
demand  for  work,  the  starvation  line  is  the  one  around 
which  wages  slightly  fluctuate.  Men  will  not  work  for 
less  than  will  support  life,  but  that  wage  which  will 
support  a  single  man  is  inadequate  for  the  man  of 
family.  The  stern  necessities  of  the  married  man  there 
fore  limit  the  point  below  which  wages  cannot  far  tend 
without  a  revolt.  The  trade  union  recognized  the  in 
exorable  force  of  this  natural  law  and  stood  as  a  bar 
rier  against  it.  So  did  the  trust.  Under  free  compe 
tition  between  manufacturers  and  jobbers  profits  ever 
tended  to  decrease  until  they  reached  and  fell  below  the 
line  where  profit  ceased  and  loss  ensued.  Any  slight  in 
dustrial  depression  or  congestion  forced  prices  below 
this  line  and  hundreds  of  producing  concerns  failed 
trom  this  cause.  The  trusts  opposed  a  barrier  against 
fhis  and  by  the  aid  of  co-operation  and  favorable  legis 
lation  defied  the  forces  of  competition  and  maintained 
artificial  prices.  Hunger  did  not  menace  the  trust.  The 
commercial  greed  and  selfishness  of  its  members  oc 
casionally  led  to  brief  disorganization,*  but  in  1900,  as 
in  1898,  the  trust  had  learned  its  lesson  well  and  was 
firmly  bound  by  the  strongest  of  ties,  those  of  self- 
defense  and  self-interest. 

Trade  unionism  was  dead  and  the  trust  survived. 
The  crushing  defeat  of  the  unions  was  gleefully  received 
by  certain  people  who  had  ever  held  that  the  organiza 
tion  was  one  which  checked  the  independence  of  the 
American  workman.  He  had  plenty  of  liberty  now  and 
spent  most  of  his  time  roaming  the  streets  in  search  of 
work,  pouring  into  the  ears  of  employers  tales  of  woe, 
and  oilering  to  go  to  work  at  any  price  which  would 


PRESS  COMMENTS  173 

keep  soul  and  body  together.  Eighteen  hundred  and  \ 
ninety-three  destroyed  one  delusion— the  people  learned 
under  the  existing  conditions  that  economy  was  a  fail 
ure;  that  the  general  saving  of  money  meant  general 
depression  and  distress.  This  year  destroyed  another 
delusion— the  workmen  learned  that  no  combination 
of  workers  could  maintain  wages  under  a  system  of 
limited  production. 

The  Democrats  were  badly  handicapped  in  the  cam 
paign  of  1900.  Their  ranks  had  been  split  by  the 
silver  issue  and  the  more  progressive  of  the  party  had 
gone  over  to  the  Populists.  Hild,  their  presidential 
candidate,  was  a  skilled  politician,  but  it  soon  became 
evident  that  the  fight  was  between  the  Populists  and 
the  Republicans.  The  south  had  rebelled  against  the 
bourbons,  and  the  frantic  appeals  of  the  fire-eaters 
were  in  vain  against  the  victorious  march  of  the  Peo 
ple's  party.  The  west  was  in  revolt  against  both  old 
parties.  In  the  early  part  of  October  it  was  generally 
conceded  that  every  state  west  of  the  Mississippi,  with 
the  possible  exceptions  of  Arkansas,  Texas  and  Cali 
fornia,  would  cast  their  votes  for  Smith  and  Brewster. 
Tt  was  the  south  and  west  against  the  east,  with  the 
Ohio  valley  as  fighting  ground.  The  Republicans  made 
their  fight  on  the  gold  standard,  high  tariff  and  pen 
sions  for  all  soldiers.  They  "raised  an  immense  cam 
paign  fund  and  flooded  the  country  with  speakers  and 
literature.  The  Democrats  lacked  the  advantage  of 
fe  leral  patronage  and  were  badly  in  need  of  money. 
As  the  day  of  election  approached  the  excitement  be 
came  intense. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

EXTRACTS    FROM    CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES. 

JUDGE  SMITH  delivered  addresses  in  New  York, Boston, 
Providence,  Albany,  Rochester,  Buffalo,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  Pittsburg,  Detroit,  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis, 
Cleveland,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Omaha, 
St  Paul,  Milwaukee  and  Chicago.  The  author  has  been 
permitted  to  select  from  these  speeches — which  will 
shortly  be  published  in  full,  with  the  history  of  the 
life  of  John  Smith — such  extracts  as  created  the  most 
comment  at  that  time. 

Extract  from  speech  delivered  in  New  York  City, 
August  14:  "No  political  party  or  social  theory  that 
attacks  the  right  to  own  property  can  ever  succeed  in 
the  United  States.  I  care  not  how  much  property  a 
man  has  acquired  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
he  is  entitled  to  that  property  or  a  fair  compensation 
in  consideration  thereof.  No  system  of  government  or 
taxation  which  aims  directly  or  indirectly  at  the  ap 
propriation  or  confiscation  of  wealth,  honestly  acquired 
by  labor,  capital,  or  both,  will  ever  meet  the  sanction 
of  the  American  people.  The  love  of  property  is  deeply 
implanted  in  the  human  nature.  It  is  a  sentiment  not 
to  be  uprooted,  but  to  be  wisely  nourished  and  culti 
vated. 

l'The  charge  has  been  made  that  the  People's  party 
proposes  to  confiscate  the  bulk  of  the  property  in  this 
country  under  the  leadership  of  a  desperate  socialist — 
myself.  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  assure  the 
good  people  of  New  York  that  we  have  no  designs  on 
the  massive  and  beautiful  buildings  which  for  miles 
make  Broadway  the  grandest  business  street  in  the 

174 


EXTRACTS   FROM   CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  175 

world.  We  may  look  almost  with  envy  on  the  palaces 
of  Fifth  Avenue,  but  no  hand  shall  be  raised  against 
them  in  the  name  of  the  people.  Not  in  our  platform, 
not  in  the  minds  of  our  leaders,  not  in  the  great  heart 
of  the  people  exists  there  a  thought  of  taking  by  force 
or  theft  that  which  can  be  duplicated  by  labor.  We 
claim — and  when  the  will  of  the  majority  shall  vest  us 
with  authority  shall  demand — that  every  citizen  of  the 
republic  again  be  clothed  in  that  God-given  and  man- 
denied  right  to  work  and  earn  a  living  for  himself  and 
for  his  children.  We  intend  to  beat  down  the  obstruc 
tions  which  skilled  politicians  have  interposed  against 
an  expression  of  the  voice  of  the  people. 

"None  of  the  rights  of  property  is  in  peril  because  of 
these  demands.  The  owner  of  the  great  factory  may 
rest  secure  in  his  possession.  The  people  can  duplicate 
his  factory.  The  landlord  with  his  thousand  tenement- 
houses  need  not  fear  the  uprising  of  an  indignant  and 
rent-racked  population.  The  people  can  build  houses. 
The  man  with  the  little  home  and  plot  of  ground  has 
naught  to  fear.  The  people  desire  not  the  fruits  of  his 
labor.  The  capitalist  with  his  bonds  and  mortgages, 
his  accumulated  stock  of  gold  and  gold-bearing  securi 
ties,  need  fear  no  invasion  of  modern  Goths  and  Vandals. 
The  people  cannot  eat  money  and  their  willing  hands 
can  produce  all  that  money  can  buy. 

"But  the  people  cannot  produce  land.  The  labor  of 
a  million  generations  cannot  produce  a  continent. 
Land  existed  before  man,  and  with  water  and  air  will 
survive  when  man  shall  be  no  more  forever.  LancLis 
not^j^m^erU7.  Concede  the  right  to  monopolize  land 
alid  yoTrsmrm  the  justice  of  human  slavery.  The  peo 
ple  must  have  land  and  they  will  have  it,  but  so  long 
as  my  voice  shall  prevail  it  will  not  be  acquired  by  con 
fiscation.  Unwise  laws  handed  down  from  past  ages 
have  made  land  a  legal  property  and  its  holders  are  en 
titled  to  just  compensation  for  any  land  which  passes 
from  them  into  the  hands  of  the  people.  The  govern 
ment—the  people — possesses  the  right  of  eminent  do 
main.  A  railroad,  under  the  same  right  exercised  in 


176  PRESIDENT   UOHN   SMITH 

the  Dame  of  the  people,  cuts  its  way  across  a  continent, 
condemning  property  and  reimbursing  its  owners  in 
proportion  as  justice  may  direct.  The  people  have  that 
same  right  and  existing  Jaws  empower  them  to  use  it. 
We  affirm  the  right  of  the  people  to  exercise  eminent 
domain  and  acquire  such  lands  as  public  policy  may 
from  time  to  time  direct,  paying  therefor  a  fair  and 
honest  compensation.  More  than  that  the  people  do 
not  demand;  less  than  that  they  will  not  accept. 

"I  am  aware  that  vast  tracts  of  land  have  been  ac 
quired  from  the  government  by  favoritism,  bribery 
and  fraud.  Some  of  this  land  still  remains  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  wrested  it  from  the  people  and  some 
has  passed  into  the  possession  of  innocent  purchasers. 
They  have  paid  for  it  and  should  be  protected.  No 
man  should  be  defrauded  out  of  a  dollar  of  the  money 
he  has  honestly  invested,  be  it  in  land  or  in  property. 
But  the  people  will  demand  their  own.  They  will  con 
demn  and  purchase  under  the  right,  not  alone  of  emi 
nent  domain,  but  under  the  higher  right— the  right  to 
live — all  lands  held  for  speculative  purposes,  all  lands 
which  the  present  generation  cannot  occupy,  and  will 
hold  it  as  a  sacred  trust  for  the  children  of  the  future. 
There  are  many  who  urge  that  all  such  land  should  be 
confiscated  without  the  payment  of  a  dollar  in  return, 
and  while  such  a  procedure  would  result  in  no  injustice 
to  thousands  of  dishonest  speculators,  it  would  wrong 
some  innocent  people.  Nationalism  seeks  to  work  in 
justice  to  no  man. 

"The  people  demand  only  that  land  which  the  pres 
ent  generation  cannot  use.  That  they  will  have,  and 
all  the  forces  of  wealth  and  prejudice  shall  not  prevail 
against  them. 

j£"Upon  some  of  the  laud  thus  acquired  the  govern 
ment  will  erect  shops  and  factories,  confining  itself  nt 
the  start  to  those  industries  most  indispensable  to  the 
actual  needs  of  the  people.  Farming  and  mining  land 
will  be  developed  on  such  an  industrial  plan  as  the  peo 
ple  may  elect.  So  long  as  a  human  want  remains  un 
satisfied,  so  long  will  there  be  employment.  Those  who 
work  will  receive  the  profits  of  their  toil. 


; 


EXTRACTS  FROM   CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES  177 


r 


uVVe  have  in  contemplation  no  plan  of  socialism  or 
/  communism  in  which   the  products  of  an   industrial 
I  community  are   to  be  equally  apportioned  among   its 
members;  no  scheme  by  which   the  dull  and  the  pro- 
|  ficient.  the  weak  and  the  strong,  the  lazy  and  the  ener- 
\  getic  shall   work  on  a  common  plane.     There  may  be 
\advocates  of  such  a  policy,  but  they  are  not  delegated 
\to  voice  the  principles  of  the  People's  party. 
,*\   uWe  contemplate  the  establishment  of  a  system  of 
'    industry  in  which  the  government  shall   hold  in  trust 
certain  property  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  No  man 
will  be  compelled  to  work  for  the  state.    No  effort  will 
be  made  to  destroy  or  ruin  the  various  industries  which 
exist  to-day.     We  simply  propose  that  the  government 
shall  ever  retain  in  its  possession  enough  of  the  tools 
and  means  of  production  to  insure  remunerative  em 
ployment  for  all  who  demand  it.     If,  under  the  man 
agement   of   the    United    States,    the   people    cannot 
produce  enough   to  support   themselves,  starvation  is 
I  the  only  alternative.     No  such  calamity  will  ensue. 

"Give  the  people  a  chance  to  work  and  this  country 
will  witness  a  prosperity  unexampled  in  the  history  of 
the  world.  Look  at  what  we  propose  to  do.  There  are 
to-day  not  less  than  5; 000,000  men  out  of  work.  Upon 
these  men  10,000,000  people  are  dependent.  Fifteen 
millions  of  people  are,  therefore,  living  on  charity.  So 
far  as  the  community  is  concerned,  they  %re  a  burden. 
The  wealthy  must  support  them.  FjQj^fiana^the  rich 
of  the_UjQJifid_States-.l)ave^been  supporting  bj^taxation 
jnTtTlTbarity  a  number  of  people  sufficient  to  form  a 
powerful  natuujr  THe"FeopTe  s  party  proposes  tcTTialEe 
this  burden  from  the  shoulders  of  the  rich. 

"We  propose  to  make  these  5,000,000  men  producers 
and  not  paupers.  Jf .  p^niitted  they  can  average  five 
dollars  a  day  and  add  that  amount  to  our  national  wealth. 
Twenty-five  million  dollars  a  day!  Seven  and  a  hall 
billion  dollars  a  year!  Five  times  the  amount  of  our  na 
tional  debt?  Every  dollar  of  this  enormous  sum  stands 
for  a  necessity  or  a  comfort  which  is  now  denied. 

"Such  is  the  policy  of  the  People's  party.     It  is  not 


178  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

visionary.  It  is  common  sense  applied  to  affairs  of 
state.  Government  has  too  long  been  conducted  on  sen 
timent;  it  is  time  that  accepted  business  principles 
were  applied." 

EXTRACT   FROM    SPEECH    DELIVERED   IN    BOSTON, 
AUGUST    18. 

"Stunted  production  is  the  curse  which  is  afflicting 
the  nation.  If  the  combined  products  of  American 
manufactories  were  divided  equally  among  the  70,000,- 

000  people  of  the  United  States,  we  should  be  a  shabbily 
dressed,    poorly   shod   and   half-starved   people.     The 
general  prosperity  of  a  nation  can  exist  only  under  two 
conditions,  viz,,  an  adequate  production  and  a  compre 
hensive  system  of  distribution.     We  have  neither.     In 
this  respect  our  country  is  not  more  unfortunate  than 
other  countries,  but  that  is  no  argument.     The  United 
States  should  be  an  earthly  paradise  as  compared  with 
a,ny  of  the  densely  populated,  land-starved  nations  of 
Europe. 

"Does  anybody  pretend  that  in  this  country  an  aver 
age  man  by  the  unrestricted  exercise  of  his  labor  is  un 
able  to  create  enough  to  support  life?  No.  And  yet 
men  are  denied  labor.  Itis  almost  impossible  to  obtain 
accurate  statistics  of  the  numbers  of  the  unemployed. 

1  doubt  if  in  the  last  thirty  years  there  have  been  twelve 
consecutive  mouths  in  which   there  was  work  for  all 
who  wanted  it.    In  various  places  at  divers  times  there 
has  been  a  demand  for  labor  which  the  immediate  com 
munity  could  not  furnish,  but  idle  men  cannot  travel 
from  Chicago  to  San  Francisco  in  search  of  work  which 
may  not  last  more  than  three  months.  The  percentage 
of  the  unemployed  has  steadily  increased.  Forced  idle 
ness    begets  loaferism.     The   discharged    mechanic  of 
to-day  is  the  ti'anip  of  the  future.  » 

"All  wealth  is  created  by  labor.  The  United  States 
to-day  is  worth  just  what  the  men  who  have  toiled  with 
hands  and  brains  have  created.  The  man  engaged  in 
useful  toil  counts  in  the  assets  of  to-day.  He  is  valu 
able  to  the  nation  'just  in  proportion  as  he  is  productive. 


EXTRACTS  FROM   CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES  179 

The  idle  man,  be  he  rich  or  poor,  idle  from  choice  or 
idle  from  necessity — the  idle  man  counts  in  the  sched 
ule  of  liabilities.  He  consumes  without  producing. 
When  an  idle  man  dies  the  liabilities  of  the  country 
are  reduced.  When  one  of  them  goes  to  work  the  country 
is  a  distinct  gainer, 

"It  does  not  cost  the  country  much  more  to  support 
an  idle  millionaire  than  it  does  to  support  a  tramp. 
The  millionaire  can  eat  so  much  food  and  wear  out  so 
many  clothes.  The  tramp  eats  three  meals  a  day  and 
wears  out  old  clothes.  Both  the  idle  tramp  and  the" idle 
millionaire  consume  products  for  which  they  render  no 
return.  The  millionaire  cannot  eat  his  houses,  hia 
lands  or  any  of  his  property.  He  holds  them  while  he 
lives  and  they  remain  in  the  country  after  he  is  dead. 
The  community  has  simply  been  compelled  to  feed  and 
clothe  him  during  his  lifetime.  He  is  enabled  to  leave 
$1,000,000  behind  for  the  simple  reason  that  in  his  life 
time  he  could  not  consume  it  if  he  tried.  True,  he  could 
squander  it,  but  property  squandered,  lost  in  gambling 
or  in  speculation,  is^not  lost  national  wealth.  It  has 
simply  changed  hands.  I  desire  to  make  this  point 
plain,  and  therefore  repeat  that  in  spite  of  all  the  cry 
about  bloated  bondholders  and  millionaires  eating  up 
the  substance  of  the  country,  the  hungriest  mil 
lionaire  cannot  eat  more  than  twice  as  much  as  the 
hungriest  tramp. 

"But  the  idle  millionaire  is  of  some  use  to  the  coun 
try  and  the  idle  workman  and  the  tramp  are  not.  The 
millionaire  pays  taxes  and  the  idle  workman  does  not 
and  cannot.  It  is  said  that  labor  pays  all  the  tax.  As 
a  rule  that  is  true,  but  there  comes  a  time  when  the 
burden  is  shifted  to  the  shoulders  of  the  rich.  In 
periods  like  the  present,  when  wages  have  reached  the 
lowest  point  at  which  men  will  work,  labor  pays  no 
taxes.  The  idle  millions  must  live.  Some  die  of  star 
vation  and  as  the  result  of  long  continued  privation, 
but  the  majority  live,  and  live  at  the  expense  of  the 
rich.  Charity  must  be  extended  or  revolution  and  riots 
follow.  Public  charities  depend  upon  taxation,  and 


180  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

private  charities  are  founded  by  the  rich.  The  moneyed 
class  is  therefore  interested,  or  should  be  interested,  in 
the  abolition  of  idleness. 

^  "Chicago  has  given  the  world  two  examples  of  what 
can  be  accomplished  by  pressing  into  service  the  idle 
workmen  of  a  nation.  In  1871  the  great  fire  swept 
$200,000,000  worth  of  property  out  of  existence  and 
in  two  years  the  bulk  of  that  property  was  reproduced. 
The  idle  workmen  of  a  hundred  cities  flocked  to  Chicago 
and  upon  the  smoking  ruins  erected  palaces  which 
stand  to-day  the  admiration  of  the  world.  Did  this 
influx  of  workmen  to  Chicago  absorb  the  surplus  of 
unemployed?  Did  Boston  or  New  York  or  Philadel 
phia  suffer  for  want  of  workmen  while  Chicago  was 
being  rebuilt?  Not  at  all.  A  year  later  and  a  panic 
swept  over  the  country  and  2, 500, 000  men  were  thrown 
out  of  work.  Even  the  burning  of  Chicago  could  not 
check  the  coming  of  a  panic  caused  by  an  overproduc 
tion. 

"When  Chicago  built  the  Columbian  Exposition  it 
required  the  constant  vigilance  of  the  local  trade  unions 
to  prevent  the  idle  army  of  the  country  from  moving 
on  Chicago.  Even  while  20,000  men  were  at  work  in 
the  grounds  and  50,000  were  engaged  in  preparing  ex 
hibits,  Chicago  had  25,000  men  looking  for  work. 
An  insignificant  fraction  of  the  idle  army  reared  in  a 
little  over  a  year  the  grandest  group  of  buildings  the 
world  has  ever  gazed  on-.  The  rapidity  with  which  the 
great  exposition  was  built  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
age.  . 

"Like  magic  an  enchanted  city  grew  from  a  swamp 
in  a  little  over  a  year.  Trained  contractors  and  archi 
tects  were  no  less  astounded  than  laymen,  and  watched 
giar,t  palaces  grow  almost  in  a  night.  And  this  sublime 
task  was  pushed  to  completion  by  a  single  regiment  of 
the  grand  army  of  the  unemployed. 

"Had  the  romancer  or  the  political  economist  pre 
dicted  that  which  actually  happened  at  Jackson  Park 
he  would  have  been  denounced  as  wild  and  visionary. 
One  one-hundredth  part  of  the  idle  men^of  America 


EXTRACTS   FROM    CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  181 

built  in  a  little  over  a  year*the  peerless  white  city,  the 
sublime  realization  of  the  dreams  of  architect,  artist 
and  poet;  the  matchless  wonder  of  the  world. 

"The  people  of  the  United  States,  irrespective  of 
party,  are  seeking  a  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  un 
employed.  A  few  greedy  manufacturers  may  desire  a 
surplus  of  workmen  who  shall  forever  bid  against  each 
other  for  work,  but  the  best  brain  of  the  age  is  ear 
nestly  searching  for  a  true  remedy,  The  politicians  of 
the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  are  not  to  be 
tasted.  With  them  it  is  the  same  old  fight  between 
the  employed  and  the  unemployed.  The  Republicans 
have  a  job  and  the  Democrats  want  it;  the  Democrats 
have  a  position  and  the  Republicans  seek  it.  They 
whisper  into  the  ear  of  their  employer,  the  people,  de 
lusive  promises,  and  on  falsa  pretenses  secure  a  four- 
year  contract.  The  people  are  about  to  dispense  with 
the  services  of  both  these  corrupt  and  inefficient  work 
men. 

"The  Republican  party  pities  the  unemployed  and 
assures  the  idle  workmen  that  under  a  protective  tariff 
there  is  work  for  all.  But  we  are  under  a  protective 
tariff  now  and  have  been  for  years.  That  does  not  dis 
turb  the  serenity  of  the  Republican  politician  Pie 
ascribes  the  cause  to  'lack  of  confidence  in  the  Demo 
cratic  party'  and  to  a  'fear  of  "a  revision  of  the  tariff. ' 

£  "General  Grant  tfas  President  in  1873.  He  had  been 
elected  by  a  tremendous  majority.  The  tariff  was  not 

',  threatened  and  protection  prevailed^in  all  its  ,glory. 
But  the  panic  came  and  millions  were  out  of  work  for 
years.  I  have  no  patience  to  discuss  the  protective 
tariff.  Workmen  who  yet  believe  in  it  deserve  to  die 
of  starvation. 

>  "Democracy  urges  free  trade.  Free  trade  is  logically 
right,  but  it  does  not  guarantee  work  to  the  citizens  of 
a  nation.  We  had  a  condition  approaching  free  trade 
before  the  war,  but  it  did  not  prevent  the  panic  of  1857. 
England  has  had  free  trade  for  nearly  a  century,  and 
\vhile  the  nation  has  grown  rich,  her  artisans  are  out 
of  work  during  long  periods  in  which  the  suffering  is 


182  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

intense.  England  makes  the  world  work  for  her  capi 
talists.  The  crowning  ambition  of  some  of  our  states 
men  is  to  shape  a  policy  so  that  'English  gold  will  be 
invested  in  the  United  States.'  We  are  told  that  if  we 
are  good,  English  millionaires  will  send  task-masters 
over  here  and  put  us  to  work.  They  will  hire  us  to 
build  railroads  in  the  United  States  for  England  and 
Belgium  and  Germany — that  is,  if  we  are  real  good  and 
don't  scare  them  away.  The  advocates  of  free  trade 
assert  that  under  it  America  can  compete  in  the  mar 
kets  of  the  world. 

"We  are  told  that  under  free  trade  the  United  States 
will  manufacture  for  the  world  all  the  cotton  and 
woolen  goods,  the  iron,  steel,  agricultural  implements, 
knives, watches,  and  in  fact  all  manufactured  products. 
What  a  glorious  prospect!  We  shall  become  the  hired 
girl  of  nations,  the  tireless,  faithful  drudge,  working 
from  year  to  year  for  the  people  of  England,  Germany, 
France,  Holland,  Spain,  Italy  and  Russia.  That  may 
be  the  ambition  of  some  statesmen,  but  it  is  not  mine. 

"Here  is  the  policy  of  the  people:  The  first  duty  of 
the  United  States  is  to  manufacture  enough  of  those 
products  the  raw  material  of  which  nature  has  lavished 
upon  us  for  the  people  of  this  country.  It  should  then 
produce  and  sell  abroad  a  surplus  sufficient  to  purchase 
from  the  continent  and  the  orient  those  necessities  and 
luxuries  which  are  produced  abroad  and  not  at  home. 
And  when  that  demand  is  satisfied — stop.  Reduce  the 
hours  of  labor  and  take  life  easier.  What  sense  is  there 
in  impoverishing  a  country  of  its  resources  of  timber, 
iron  and  fertile  soil  merely  that  a  people  slave  them 
selves  with  work  to  pile  up  gold  that  cannot  be  legiti 
mately  spent? 

Workmen    of    America,    how    much    longer    will 
you    be    deluded    by   these   false  issues  of  protection 
and  free  trade?     How  much   longer  will   you   stupidly  / 
follow  some  ass  who  tells  you  that  free  silver  or  paper  / 
money  is  the  one   thing   needful?     You   want  work,  j 
You  have  votes.     You  are  in  the  majority.     Your  lib- 1 
erty  of  voting  has  not  been  taken  from  you.     By  those  j 


EXTRACTS   FROM    CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES  183 

votes  vest  the  government  with  authority  to  guarantee  *N 
work  and  the  products  of  that  work  to  every  man  who  / 
demands  it. 

"Cease  your  railing  against  the  millionaires.  Their 
property  is  not  hurting  you.  The  idle  millions  of 
American  workmen  can  create  more  property  in  a  week 
than  the  combined  possessions  of  the  richest  men  in 
the  world.  The  United  States  is  a  vast  tract  of  fertile 
land  filled  with  inexhaustible  mines  and  is  sparsely 
populated.  It  is  capable  of  a  demonstration  by  figures 
that  the  workmen  of  America  can  in  twenty  years 
more  tham  duplicate  all  the  tangible  property  in  the 
United  States. 

"They  can  reproduce  on  a  grander  scale  all  the  great 
cities,  towns  and  villages,  the  farmhouses,  barns  and 
fences,  the  175,000  miles  of  railroad  and  its  rolling 
stock,  depots  and  properties,  and  every  colossal  project 
which  labor  and  capital  have  created  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  British 
line. 

"The  imagination  cannot  grasp  the  tremendous  pos 
sibilities  of  modern  methods  of  production.  That  which 
required  the  labor  of  thousands  of  men  for  months 
forty  yoars  ago,  is  now  performed  by  children  in  a  day. 
In  machinery  we  have  summoned  into  existence  a  genie 
which  threatens  us  with  destruction.  Whisper  a  word 
into  his  ear  and  he  becomes  an  obedient  slave  What 
is  that  word?  Co-operation." 

Appended  is  an  extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by 
Mr.  Smith,  candidate  for  President.  It  was  at  a  Phila 
delphia  meeting  held  August  25,  and  this  is  what  the 
speaker  said : 

"I  am  in  receipt  of  a  letter  from  the  president  of 
your  board  of  trade,  in  which  I  am  asked  'whether  I 
am  in  favor  of  honest  money.'  While  fhis  is  tanta 
mount  to  asking  me  if  I  prefer  the  right  as  against  the 
wrong,  all  things  being  equal,  I  shall  take  no  offense 
and  unhesitatingly  answer  the  gentleman  in  the  affirm-  . 
ative. 


184  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

"The  money  issue  does  Dot  appear  in  the  platform 
of  our  party.  The  men  who  framed  that  platform  did 
not  consider  the  question  of  sufficient  importance  at 
the  present  time  to  force  it  to  the  front.  Money — 
honest,  dishonest  silver,  gold  and  paper — is  an  issue 
between  the  debtor  and  creditor  class  of  this  country. 

"The  unemployed  workmen  of  this  country  belong 
to  neither  of  these  classes.  They  have  nothing  to  lend 
and  no  one  will  extend  them  credit.  Just  at  present 
they  are  endeavoring  to  take  such  political  action  as 
will  guarantee  them  work.  When  they  obtain  that  work 
they  intend  t  cure  tain  the  products  of  that  work  after 
paying  their  debts  and  their  fair  share  of  the  expenses 
of  the  government.  They  have  assumed  that  it  will 
not  be  a  difficult  task  to  arrange  some  system  by  which 
the  products  of  their  toil  can  be  exchanged. 

"The  president  of  your  board  of  trade  may  rest  as 
sured  that  whatever  may  be  the  medium  of  exchange 
adopted  by  the  people — when  they  shall  have  estab 
lished  their  right  to  work — it  will  be  an  honest  one.  J 
very  much  doubt  if  any  considerable  portion  of  the 
people  will  devote  their  time  to  the  mining  of  'money.' 
If  it  shall  be  found  necessary,  as  it  doubtless  will,  to 
mine  gold  and  silver  for  use  in  the  sciences  and  arts, 
Mother  Nature  will  be  called  upon  for  such  resources, 
but  we  shall  not  devote  valuable  time  or  waste  muscu 
lar  tissue  in  delving  the  soil  for  a  medium  of  exchange. 

"Let  us  imagine  an  inhabitant,  say,  of  Mars,  upon 
which  planet  they  had  a  system  of  finance  and  exchange 
strange  to  us.  Let  us  imagine  this  visitor  from  Mars 
making  a  trip  here  for  the  purpose  of  writing  for  our 
heavenly  neighbor  a  book  on  his  'Impressions  of  Amer 
ica. '  He  lands  in  Colorado  and  Senator  Wildcot  shows 
him  around  the  Centennial  State.  They  proceed  to 
Leadville  or  Aspen  and  inspect  the  great  mines. 

"'This  is  the  greatest  silver  and  gold  mine  in  Amer 
ica,'  explains  the  senator.  'Three  thousand  men  are 
digging  these  treasures  from  the  ground.  Sixty-five 
per  cent  is  silver  and  thirty-five  per  cent  is  gold.' 

"'Oh,  yes.  It  is  very  interesting.  Is  it  hard  work?' 
asked  the  gentleman  from  Mars, 


EXTRACTS  FROM  CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES  185 

"'Rather  hard,  but  it  is  good  pay.' 

"'What  ia  gold  used  for,  may  I  inquire?' 

"'Money.' 

"'Excuse  my  ignorance,  but  what  is  money?'  asked 
the  puzzled  martial  gentleman. 

"'Why,  money  is  a  medium  of  exchange.  It  fixes  the 
price  of  things,  regulates  values  and  all  that.' 

"'How?' 

"'Because  there  is  not  much  of  it.  It  is  hard  to  get. 
It  represents  so  much  labor.  The  supply  is  limited,  you 
see,  and  it  cannot  fluctuate  much.'  The  senator  ap 
peared  ill  at  ease, 

"'I  hardly  understand.  You  say  it  represents  so 
much  labor.  Then  these  men  have  all  the  money  they 
find.  How  do  other  people — ' 

"'No,  no,'  interrupted  the  senator,  'The  men  who 
do  the  work  don't  have  the  silver  or  gold.  They  are 
hired  to  dig  it.  It  belongs  to  the  mine-owners,  I  own 
several  mines  myself.' 

"'You  puzzle  me.  I  cannot  understand  what  fixes 
the  standard.  You  said  labor.  Do  you  always  pay  the 
laborers  the  same  price?' 

"'No;  they  form  unions  and  raise  the  price  some 
times.' 

"'Are  all  mines  equally  rich  in  minerals?' 

"'I  should  say  not.  The  silver  mines  are  too  blamed 
rich.  A  few  years  ago  they  became  so  rich  that  the 
United  States  stopped  buying  silver.' 

"'Remarkable  system,'  mused  the  visitor.  'Do  all 
the  people  own  silver  and  gold  mines?' 

"'Well,  hardly.' 

"'Plow  do  they  get  gold  and  silver?' 

"'They  exchange  things  for  it — boots,  horses, wheat, 
pictures,  everything  ' 

"'What  do  they  want  of  the  gold  and  silver?' 

"'Why,  it's  money,  I  told  you—a  medium  of  exchange. 
They  have  to  have  it  '  The  senator  was  perspiring. 

"'But  you  said  that  three  years  ago  the  government 
refused  to  purchase  silver  because  there  was  too  much 
of  it.  What  do  they  use  now?' 


186  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

"'Gold.' 

"'Suppose  you  should  mine  so  much  gold  that  the 
government  would  not  buy  it,  what  would  the  people 
then  do  for  money?' 

"'Damned  if  I  know,'  said  Senator  Wildcot.  'Let's 
go  back  to  the  hotel. ' 

"'They had  such  a  system  as  that  on  the  moon, 'said 
the  traveler  from  Mars,  'but  they  outgrew  it  8,400,000 
years  ago. ' 

"The  power  to  issue  money  should  be  vested  in  the 
general  government  and  in  that  alone.  The  United 
States  government  is  to-day  the  richest  property-owner 
in  the  world.  Uncle  Sam  schedules  as  assets: 

"Seventy  millions  of  people,  80,000,000  of  whom  are 
or  should  be  producers. 

"Vast  tracts  of  land. 

"Hundreds  of  thousands  of  miles  of  roads  and 
thoroughfares. 

"More  than  $200,000,000  invested  in  public  build 
ings. 

"A  public-school  system,  a  postal  system,  an  army 
and  navy  with  vast  stores  of  ammunitions. 

"Can  you  place  a  money  estimate  on  that  property? 
Would  ten  billions  or  twenty  billions  of  dollar's  cover 
it?  In  commercial  transactions  a  man's  note  is  good 
for  at  least  half  of  his  unimpaired  assets.  Uncle  Sam 
is  in  debt  a  trifle  over  a  billion  of  dollars,  and  under 
any  reasonable  system  of  finance  and  production  could 
pay  that  in  two  years.  I  hold  that  the  credit  of  the 
United  States  is  good  for  any  obligation  that  the  people 
care  to  assume.  We  are  told  that  the  United  States 
cannot  purchase  the  railroads.  If  the  people  have 
created  something  greater  than  themselves,  if  the  rail 
roads  are  more  than  the  state,  this  assertion  is  true. 

"The  unit  of  money  should  be  based  upon  the  average 
productivity  of  an  hour's  or  a  day's  labor,  and  its  credit 
should  be  based  on  the  resources  of  the  government 
and  its  fundamental  right  to  levy  taxes.  Gold  has  no 
more  right  to  govern  as  a  standard  of  value  than  have 


EXTRACTS  FROM   CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  187 

undressed  hides  or  peacock  feathers,  The  fact  that  it 
is  accepted  as  a  standard,  and  that  it  has  been  so  ac 
cepted  for  thousands  of  years,  is  the  strongest  argument 
why  it  should  be  abolished. 

"I  am  not  authorized  to  forecast  just  what  will  be 
the  form  of  the  currency  adopted  by  the  people,  but  it 
requires  no  prophetic  instinct  to  assert  that  it  will  not 
be  silver  or  gold.  If  the  people  in  their  wisdom  decree 
that  it  will  be  safe  to  advance  money  with  silver  or 
gold  as  security  they  will  do  so.  If  they  elect  that  the 
government  be  authorized  to  issue  a  currency,  accept 
ing  as  security  houses,  lands,  imperishable  manufact 
ured  products  and  available  and  convertible  property 
of  whatever  kind,  such  will  be  a  part  of  the  financial 
policy  of  the  future.  And  any  money  thus  issued  will 
be  'honest  money,'  and  will  pass  current  among  the 
people  as  a  medium  of  exchange,  convertible  at  all 
times  into  any  product  that  labor  can  create  or  any 
service  civilization  can  render.  And  when  that  time 
comes,  and  whatever  form  the  currency  may  take,  I 
have  an  abiding  faith  that  a  way  will  be  found  to  ex 
change  American  wheat  for  English  woolens  and 
American  sewing  machines  for  Chinese  teas,  even 
though  the  gold  standard  prevail  in  every  heathen 
and  semi-civilized  nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe." 

EXTRACT    FROM    SPEECH    DELIVERED     BY     JOHN     SMITH     AT 
CINCINNATI,     SEPT.     2,     1900. 

"In  recent  years  we  have  heard  a  great  deal  about 
'confidence.'  If  the  papers  are  to  be  trusted — and  they 
fairly  reflect  what  the  public  believes  to  be  the  truth— 
the  prosperity  of  the  country  is  entirely  a  matter  of 
'confidence.'  You  pick  up  your  morning  paper  and 
here  is  what  you  read: 

"'The  business  interests  in  every  part  of  the  country 
are  less  sanguine  and  the  tone  of  trade  is  less  confident  ' 

"'An  increase  of  the  tariff  on  soap  and  scissors  would 
greatly  tend  to  restore  the  confidence  of  the  business 
world.' 


188  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

u<The  ratos  on  money  still  tend  upward,  and  there  is 
no  decrease  in  the  feeling  of  timidity  among  bankers 
and  capitalists.  The  unconditional  repeal  of  the  tax 
on  walnuts  would  speedily  brighten  affairs. ' 

"'Bohmer  &  Co,  failed  to-day  for  $862,000.  Mr. 
Bohmer  ascribes  his  embarrassment  to  the  prevailing 
business  depression  and  lack  of  confidence.' 

"'Not  until  confidence  is  fully  restored  will  business 
assume  its  normal  proportions,'  etc. 

"All  of  which  is  perfectly  true.  Under  the  business, 
mercantile  and  productive  systems  which  the  last  fifty 
years  have  developed,  everything  is  more  or  less  regu 
lated  by  'confidence.'  Not  of  the  entire  community— 
not  by  any  means.  It  makes  little  difference  whether 
the  man  who  works  has  'confidence'  or  not.  He  does 
not  count.  It  is  the  man  of  money,  the  banker,  the 
merchant,  the  manufacturer,  who  alternately  burns 
with  a  fever  of  speculation  or  chills  with  a  lack  of  con 
fidence.  When  confidence  is  abroad  in  the  land  work 
is  plenty,  vast  workshops  resound  with  the  din  of  in 
dustry,  and  at  evening  long  processions  of  tired  but, 
happy  workmen  wend  their  way  homeward.  When  the 
business  world  has  lost  this  cud  of  confidence,  this 
magic  wand  or  potent  incantation,  depression  reigns, 
industry  is  paralyzed,  children  beg  on  the  streets,  and 
poorhonses  and  prisons  are  crowded  to  their  doors. 

"How  tenderly  the  financial  high  priests  and  com 
mercial  quacks  nurse  the  new-born  babe  of  confidence, 
the  stunted  infant  cf  hard  times  born  in  travail  and 
agony  1  Its  feeble  life  is  preserved  for  a  time,  but  loud 
lamentations  arise  when,  after  a  few  years  of  miserable 
existence,  the  pale  youth  passes  away. 

"What  is  business  confidence?  Where  does  it  come 
from?  Why  is  it  necessary  and  what  can  be  done  to 
perpetuate  it?  These  are  questions  which  should  be 
answered.  Let  us  analyze  the  situation, 

''Business  is  conducted  for  profit.  Manufacturing 
is  in  the  hands  of  men  who  have  invested  money  and 
expect  some  return  for  it.  So  long  as  a  steady  demand 
exists  for  goods  produced,  manufacturers,  jobbers  and 


EXTRACTS    FROM  CAMPAIGN   SPEECHES  189 

retailers  are  assured  of  profits,  provided  they  exercise 
reasonable  business  discretion  and  economy.  But  a 
time  comes  when  the  demand  for  products  decreases. 
Then  is  when  the  business  world  begins  to  lose  confi 
dence.  They  have  their  hand  upon  the  public  pulse. 
It  may  be  a  false  alarm  and  the  demand  may  again  re 
sume  a  normal  stage.  Sooner  or  later  the  symptoms 
reappear.  Trade  falls  off,  the  manufacturers  take 
alarm,  the  shops  shut  down,  confidence  is  lost,  and 
hard  times  are  on.  Confidence  in  what?  In  the 
people;  in  the  power  of  the  consumer  to  keep  up 
with  the  machinery  of  production.  The  reservoir  is 
full  to  the  top  and  threatens  to  run  over.  The  engines 
of  production  are  shut  down. 

" Money  is  a  coward,  and  gold  is  the  greatest  coward 
of  all  Money  is  not  only  a  coward,  but  it  is  an  ignor 
ant,  blundering  coward,  whose  bead  js  devoid  of  brains 
and  filled  wifh  timidity.  Money  does  not  know  when 
it  is  in  danger,  and  as  a  rule  is  most  timid  when  there 
is  nothing  to  fear,  and  assumes  a  bravado  when  there 
is  real  danger.  Money  never  created  hard  times.  When 
the  keen-eyed  manufacturer  perceives  that  he  has  pro 
duced  more  than  enough  to  meet  the  demand,  the 
country,  ignorant  of  that  fact,  is  yet  in  its  normal 
condition.  Money  knows  nothing  of  the  manufacturer's 
secret,  and  likely  enough  is  at  that  very  moment  dupli 
cating  the  great  factory  which  is  about  to  close  its 
"doors.  The  factory  shuts  down,  Gold  trembles.  A 
bank  shuts  down.  Bankers  raise  their  rates  of  interest 
and  call  in  loans.  The  people  become  alarmed,  a  run 
on  the  banks  ensues,  every  one  secures  all  the  money 
he  can  and  locks  it  up.  The  panic  is  on.  Gold  has 
locked  himself  up  in  a  cage  and  the  chattering  of  the 
teeth  tells  of  his  pitiful  cowardice.  But  gold  did  not 
precipitate  the  panic.  The  manufacturer  made  the 
paiiic  and  gold  did  the  running.  A  period  follows  in 
which  gold  refuses  to  leave  his  cage.  Three  or  four 
months  pass  and  finally  he  ventures  out.  He  is  not 
harmed  and  loses  some  of  his  fears.  Money  flows  back 
into  the  banks.  The  rates  of  interest  fall.  Money  be- 


190  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

comes  a  drug  in  the  market.  The  manufacturers  can 
not  use  it.  They  are  not  ready  to  start  up  their  shops. 
The  surplus  of  manufactured  goods  yet  remains  unsold. 
Such  was  the  experience  in  1893  and  such  was  the  ex 
perience  in  all  preceding  panics. 

"The  panic  of  1893  was  made  the  subject  of  more 
partisan  misrepresentation  than  anything  which  ever 
occupied  public  attention.  In  their  attempt  to  make 
political  capital  and  to  secure  a  temporary  partisan 
advantage  out  of  a  great  national  calamity  public 
speakers  and  writers  lied  about  the  causes  of  the  panic 
or  knowingly  and  maliciously  distorted  the  facts  Every 
thoughtful  business  man,  banker  or  manufacturer,  ev 
ery  student  of  political  economy,  and  every  intelligent 
citizen  of  the  United  States  knew  in  August,  1893,  that 
the  panic  was  caused  by  an  overproduction  of  manu 
factured  goods.  The  factories  began  to  shut  down  in 
the  latter  part  of  1892,  when  the  country  was  enjoying 
almost  unexampled  prosperity.  Hundreds  of  them  had 
closed  down  before  the  general  public  were  aware  of  it. 
There  suddenly  developed  a  demand  for  the  repeal  of 
the  silver  bill.  Republican  and  Democratic  papers, 
Republican  and  Democratic  orators,  Republican  and 
Democratic  partisans  declared  that  the  factories  were 
closed  down  because  the  banks  would  not  advance 
money  to  the  shop-owners.  This  assertion  was  made 
again  and  again  and  never  refuted.  It  was  absolutely 
false.  The  manufacturers  did  not  want  money.  They 
did  not  close  down  on  account  of  a  money  stringency  or 
a  money  panic.  A  financial  panic  and  a  stringency 
followed  because  the  factories  closed  down.  The  fac 
tories  were  the  cause  and  not  the  effect. 

"The  people  did  not  kno^v  this.  They  were  told  that 
work  would  be  resumed  just  as  soon  as  the  banks  had 
money  to  lend.  They  believed  this.  When  the  panic 
fwas  past  money  began  to  pour  into  the  banks,  but  the 
factories  did  not  resume  work.  What  was  the  matter? 
The  predictions  of  the  politicians  had  not  come  true. 
The  Sherman  silver  bill  had  been  repealed,  money  was 
plenty,  but  the  hard  times  continued  worse  than  ever 
before. 


EXTRACTS    FROM  CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  191 

"Money  never  created  an  industrial  depression  and 
never  averted  one. 

"Politics  never  created  an  industrial  depression  and 
never  averted  one.  Manufacturers  do  not  allow  politi 
cians  to  interfere  in  business  affairs  and  the  demand  of 
the  manufacturers  fixes  the  rate  of  interest  at  the  banks. 

"When  the  factory  shuts  down,  the  banker  knows 
that  there  is  trouble  ahead.  He  therefore  lends  no  more 
money.  He  begins  to  prepare  for  the  inevitable  run  on 
the  bank.  During  the  panic  money  cannot  be  had. 
The  banker  does  not  know  who  is  in  danger  of  failing. 
After  the  scare  is  over  depositors  return  their  money 
and  the  banker  waits  for  men  with  security  who  want 
money.  The  factory-owner  has  plenty  of  security,  but 
he  does  not  need  money.  The  banker  has  plenty  of 
'confidence,'  but  it  availeth  nothing  without  the  'confi 
dence'  of  the  manufacturer. 

"A  day  finally  comes  when  the  mill  owner  decides  to 
open  the  doors  of  the  shop  and  put  his  men  to  work. 
He  does  not  ask  the  banker  when  to  resume.  He  has 
been  examining  the  shelves  of  the  retailers.  They  are 
empty.  The  surplus  has  been  consumed.  He  borrows 
the  necessary  money  and  the  wheels  of  the  great  factory 
again  revolve.  Another  factory  does  the  same  thing 
The  bank  raises  the  rate  of  interest.  Good  times  have 
come.  Everything  is  on  the  boom.  Money  prances 
around  and  builds  new  factories  and  the  rates  go  higher 
and  higher. 

"A  few  years  roll  by  and  again  the  manufacturer 
shuts  down,  a  panic  follows,  and  the  same  performance 
is  repeated. 

"The  kingpin,  therefore,  is  the  manufacturer.  He 
shuts  down  not  because  he  wants  to, but  because  he  has 
to.  He  watches  the  consumer.  The  banker  watches  the 
manufacturer  and  such  of  the  statistics  of  trade  as  ho 
Otin  reach  He  'obtains  confidence'  and  'loses  confi 
dence'  in  this  way.  The  system  is  simple  and  amusing, 

"It  has  been  politically  impossible  to  successfully 
assail  the  Chinese  wall  of  protective  tarilf.  Manufac 
turers  who  close  on  account  of  overproduction  have 


192  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

lyingly  told  their  workmen  that  the  reason  for  their  so 
doing  \\as  either  a  lack  of  sufficient  tariff  or  a  fear 
that  the  existing  one  was  about  to  be  reduced.  Lying 
editors  have  backed  up  this  falsehood.  Some  factories 
have  curtailed  their  production  for  fear  that  an  im 
mediate  reduction  in  the  tariff  would  find  them  with 
a  stock  of  goods  on  hand  which  might  have  to  be  sold 
at  a  slight  sacrifice,  but  these  cases  are  rare.  Not  all 
of  the  workmen  have  been  fools  enough  to  believe  what 
protection  editors  have  told  them,  but  the  forces  of 
ignorance  in  a  close  election  are  powerful  and  too  often 
have  prevailed. 

"We  therefore  witness  in  this  country  a  remarkable 
phenomenon.  We  have  a  country  of  unsurpassed  nat 
ural  resources  as  yet  hardly  touched.  We  have  a  strong, 
willing  and  industrious  population,  intelligent  on  all 
subjects  save  that  of  government,  and  the  greatest 
inventors  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  They  are  attempt 
ing  to  exist  under  a  social,  business  and  producing  sys 
tem  so  highly  nervous  in  its  organism  that  an  inquiry 
about^its  health  is  likely  to  bring  on  a  state  of  extreme 
depression.  Business  is  a  bed-ridden  invalid,  covered 
with  fever  sores,  the  victim  of  political  quacks  who 
grow  rich  by  applying  nostrums  which  aggravate  the 
disease. 

"Clear  your  brains  for  a  monent,  voters  of  America, 
and  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  thought  unclouded  by 
bigotry,  custom  or  prejudice. 

"Suppose  that  the  people  of  America  should  wake  up 
one  of  these  beautiful  autumnal  days,  when  the  glorious 
old  sun  shines  down  on  field  and  meadow,  on  forest  and 
mine,  on  lakes,  bays  and  rivers,  glinting  the  sails  of* 
commerce;  when  warm  breezes  waft  into  waves  vast 
fields  of  grain,  until  a  continent  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  rich  beyond  the  dreams  of  the  fabled  Croe 
sus,  lies  bathed  in  sunlight,  awaiting  the  coming  of 
the  harvester  and  inviting  the  toil  of  the  workman — 
suppose  that  on  such  a  morning  the  people  should  take 
old  lady  Business  out  of  her  chamber,  hustle  her  de 
crepit  limbs  into  ^God's  sunlight,  throw  the  sick  bed 


EXTRACTS  FROM  CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES 


198 


and  its  foul  linen  from  the  window,  open  the  doors, and 
air  out  the  house.  What  do  you  suppose  would  happen? 
Would  the  old  lady  die  of  the  shock?  No.  Would  the 
people  all  perish  of  starvation?  No.  But  how  the 
quacks  would  rush  around  with  smelling  bottles  and 
restoratives! 

"Suppose  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  should 
suddenly  determine  to  exercise  in  government  that 
common  sense  which  inspires  them  in  business,  in  me 
chanics  and  in  their  social  relations  with  each  other. 
Suppose  they  should  abolish  the  United  States  Senate, 
wipe  out  of  the  statute-books  all  laws  designed  to  choke 
the  majority,  elect  officers  by  majorities,  pass  laws  by 
majorities,  and  repeal  Jaws  which  worked  injustice 
by  majorities.  Suppose  that  the  people  should 
determine  to  intrust  the  welfare  of  the  nation  to 
the  common  good  sense  of  the  majority.  Sup 
pose  that  they  should  place  tools  in  the  hands  of 
idle  men  and  endow  them  with  a  chance  to  work  for  a 
living.  Suppose  they  should  at  one  stroke  abolish 
every  tariff  law  on  these  statute-books  and  declare  that, 
as  the  grandest  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  with 
the  grandest  soil,  mines,  forests  and  resources,  peopled 
by  the  grandest  people  now  in  the  full  possession  oi 
their  faculties,  they  feared  not  the  pauper  labor  of  an}1 
downtrodden  country.  Suppose  they  should  do  that. 
Would  the  world  come  to  an  end?  Would  the  rivers 
run  dry,  the  grain  wither  in  the  shock,  and  the  arms  oi 
strong  men  become  palsied?  A  thousand  times  no. 
What  reason  is  there  why  the  people  should  not  do 
this? 

UI  hear  some  weakling  whisper  that  it  is  not  practi 
cal.  There  exists  in  this  country  a  class  of  human  be 
ings  who  call  themselves  practical  men  and  who  believe 
that  poverty  is  practical,  that  idleness  is  practical,  that 
the  rule  of  the  majority  is  impractical,  that  tariff  rob 
bery  is  practical,  and  that  any  man  who  assails  an  ac 
knowledged  wrong  is  a  crank  and  impractical.  Such 
men  encumber  the  earth  and  are  permitted  to  exist  ii* 
a  civilization  whose  glories  are  bequeathed  by  patriots, 


104  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

philosophers  and  inventors  whom  the  apes  of  succes 
sive  ages  have  termed  impractical,  have  derided  and 
vilified,  and  whenever  possible  have  crucified. 

"I  give  you  a  sentiment:  'Long  live  the  reign  of 
the  majority.'" 

EXTRACTS    FROM    SPEECH   DELIVERED   AT   INDIANAPOLIS, 
SEPT.    12. 

"I  shall  speak  to-night  of  paternalism.  Paternalism. 
You  have  seen  and  heard  that  word  frequently  in  re 
cent  years.  'Paternalism  in  government,'  'believers 
in  paternalism,'  are  phrases  generally  coupled  with  a 
well-worded  sneer.  Those  simple-minded  but  well- 
meaning  people  whose  political  beliefs  are  hand-made 
and  who  dare  not  trust  themselves  to  form  opinions  of 
their  own  have  been  made  to  believe  that  paternalism 
is  something  awful,  which  if  not  checked  may  sap  our 
national  existence. 

"A  republican  orator  will  talk  himself  red  in  the  face 
defending  the  protective  tariff  and  then  launch  into  a 
tirade  against  farmers  who  want  the  government  to  ad 
vance  them  credit  on  wheat,  denouncing  it  as  'a  pater 
nalism  which  no  intelligent  people  will  subscribe  to.' 
Another  will  extol  the  glories  of  the  public  school  sys 
tem  and  wind  up  by  urging  'every  American  citizen  to 
assert  his  own  individuality  and  frown  down  the  rising 
tide  of  paternalism.' 

"What  is  this  paternalism,  who  introduced  it  into 
the  country,  and  how  can  we  frown  it  down? 

UI  may  as  well  confess  at  the  start  that  I  am  a  pater 
nal  1st  and  prepared  to  defend  myself  on  any  charge 
which  may  be  brought  against  me.  A  paternal  govern 
ment  is  one  which  is  watchful  of  the  interests  of  its 
subjects,  one  which  stands  ready  to  aid  its  people,  a 
government  which  holds  itself  to  an  extent  responsible 
for  the  personal  comfort  and  happiness  of  its  subjects. 
It  is  the  antithesis  of  anarchy.  Of  all  the  words  in  the 
dictionary  the  true  anarchist  hates  paternalism  worst. 


ANOTKER  GOVERNMENT  .SI.&V& 


t4-80VBIi:iMIU»  SLAVE. 


J95 


EXTRACTS  FROM    CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  _197 

The  government  of  the  United  States  and  our  various 
states  and  cities  have  many  paternal  features.  Here 
are  a  few  of  them: 

"The  public  school  system. 

"•The  post  office  system. 

"The  pension  system. 

"The  protective  tariff. 

"The  government  land  system  (now  obsolete). 

"Public  waterworks. 

"Fire  department. 

"Street-lighting  system. 

"All  of  these  are  examples  of  paternalism.  Anarch 
ists  and  a  great  many  other  people  do  not  believe  in 
such  institutions.  They  believe  that  individuals  and 
private  corporations  can  render  better  service  than  the 
government.  They  prefer  private  schools,  and  object 
to  being  taxed  for  public  schools,  and  denounce  the 
system  as  an  odious  paternalism.  They  assert  that 
private  corporations  would  improve  on  the  postal  serv 
ice.  They  rail  against  pensions.  They  are  opposed  to 
the  protective  tariff.  I  plead  guilty  of  entertaining  an 
opposition  to  the  protective  tariff  form  of  paternalism, 

"The  paternal  features  of  our  government  are  the  ones 
which  save  it  from  a  complete  and  lamentable  failure. 
The  splendid  service  which  the  state  renders  to  the  peo 
ple  through  the  school,  post-office,  and  the  various 
municipal  departments  partly  atones  for  the  ignomini 
ous  failure  to  legislate  in  the  interest  of  the  people. 
Eliminate  these  paternal  features  of  government  and 
little  remains  but  official  corruption. 

"A  government  is  directly  responsible  for  the  per 
sonal  comfort  and  happiness  of  its  people.  If  the  mass 
of  a  people  are  in  financial  distress  the  fault  lies  with 
the  government.  If  an  honest  citizen  starves  to  death 
the  government  is  a  murderer.  Deny  this  proposi 
tion  and  you  renounce  your  faith  in  government. 

"If  the  government  is  not  responsible  who  or  what 
is?  In  this  city  of  Indianapolis  to-day  there  are  6,000 
men  out  of  work.  They  are  good,  honest,  industrious 
men,  capable  of  earning  a  living,  but  there  is  no  work 


198  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

for  them  to  do,  They  have  families  dependent  upon 
them.  Their  means  of  support  is  cut  off.  Who  is  re 
sponsible?  The  men  who  own  the  great  factories?  No. 
They  are  under  no  obligations  to  give  these  men  work. 
They  are  at  liberty  to  close  down  any  time  business 
policy  so  dictates.  Your  wealthy  citizens  are  not  re 
sponsible  and  are  not  compelled  to  feed  these  men  or 
keep  their  families  from  starvation.  The  men  them 
selves  are  not  to  blame.  The  United  States  govern 
ment  is  responsible.  It  is  the  fault  of  some  evil  system 
that  honest  men  are  denied  work.  In  some  way  the 
machinery  of  the  government  is  defective  or  this  thing 
would  not  have  happened. 

"Here  is  this  idle  workman.  He  is  an  American  citi 
zen,  a  voter  and  a  tax-payer.  He  fought  to  protect  his 
country  and  has  ever  been  a  law-abiding  citizen.  He 
has  ever  defended  the  constitution  and  laws  of  his  conn- 
try.  A  day  comes  when  the  factory  in  which  he  works 
is  closed  down.  Other  factories  are  closed.  It  is  im 
possible  for  him  to  obtain  work.  In  other  parts  of  the 
country  the  same  holds  true.  This  man  has  been 
swindled.  The  government  of  the  United  States  has 
obtained  money  for  taxes  from  him  under  false  pre 
tenses.  Instead  ol  protecting  his  interests  it  has  brought 
about  a  condition  of  affairs  ruinous  not  only  to  himself, 
but  to  his  employer.  Why  shall  he  not  hold  the  govern 
ment  responsible?  Is  not  the^  government  responsible 
for  the  lives  of  its  subjects? 

"As  a  believer  in  paternalism,  as  a  believer  in  the 
responsibility  of  a  government,  I  declare  that  any  hon 
est  citizen  of  this  country,  when  denied  employment 
in  private  workshop  and  mill,  has  the  right  to  demand 
and  obtain  from  the  government  work  and  compensa 
tion.  I  hold  that  any  government  which  refuses  such 
a  demand  invites  revolution  and  anarchy.  -^^"l 

"American  workmen  do  not  want  charity.     Charity    I 
breeds   revolutionists  and  criminals.     A  public  soup- 
house  will  make  mere  criminals  in  one  week  than  all 
Johann  Host's  ravings  can  in  a  year.  ^^ 

"An  American   workman  desires  a  chance  to  work 


EXTRACTS   FROM    CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES 

and  earn  a  living.  He  cannot  supply  himself  with 
work.  The  watch  factory  with  its  3,000  operatives 
and  wonderful  machinery  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
patient,  plodding  watchmaker  of  the  olden  time.  The 
age  of  machinery  has  robbed  the  workman  of  his  indi 
viduality.  He  is  nothing  but  a  'hand,'  The  factory 
is  part  of  his  life.  He  answers  to  the  ring  of  a  bell, 
the  sound  of  a  whistle,  and  willingly  obeys  the  petty 
rules  of  tyrants  that  he  may  earn  a  living.  Shut  down 
the  factory  and  he  is  lost.  He  is  not  to  blame  for  that 
system.  It  grew  up  around  him  and  unconsciously  he 
became  a  part  of  it.  He  is  helpless  to  release  himself 
from  it.  He  is  a  small  and  not  very  important  part  of 
the  machine,  and  one  very  easily  replaced,  and  when 
the  machine  stops  he  stops.  Whom  shall  he  look  to  in 
this  his  day  of  distress? 

"I  say  he  should  look  to  the  government,  and  I  make 
the  assertion  that  no  government  can  long  exist  which 
sits  idly  by  and  watches  its  faithful  subjects  subsist  on 
the  bread  of  charity  or  sees  them  forced  into  pauper 
ism  or  crime. 

"The  day  is  at  hand  when  the  American  republic 
must  choose  between  paternalism  and  anarchy.  The 
day  is  at  hand  when  the  American  government  must 
either  protect  its  people  or  go  down  in  revolution  and 
blood.  There  is  no  middle  ground.  We  must  either 
have  a  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and 
by  the  people,  or  have  no  government. 

"/  have  an  abiding  faith  in  government,  in  the  will 
of  the  majority,  in  wise  paternalism,  in  scientific  nation 
alism.  I  believe  in  the  people.  I  believe  that  the  great 
heart  of  the  people  is  kind,  loving  and  unselfish.  I  be 
lieve  that  we  can  trust  in  the  good  common  sense  of  a  peo 
ple  who  are  permitted  to  express  their  opinion  unhampered 
by  restraints.  I  distrust  the  individual.  He  is  selfish. 
He  is  often  dishonest  and  corruptible.  He  is  easily  misled 
and  influenced.  Bat  you  cannot  long  deceive  the  whole 
people;  you  cannot  corrupt  the  whole  people.  1  bel'eve 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government  of  the  United  States 
to  immediately  establish  industries  which  will  give  employ- 


200  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

ment  to  everg  idle  man  in  America.  The  government  has 
or  can  command  the  capital  and  the  people  are  eager  to 
supply  the  labor.  This  plan  is  perfectly  practical.  It 
solves  the  most  difficult  problem  -which  ever  confronted  civ 
ilization.  It  should  have  no  opposition. 

"But  it  will  be  fought  by  those  who  are  opposed  to  a 
strong  government  and  to  paternalism,  by  those  man 
ufacturers  and  capitalists  who  fear  the  competition  of 
the  government,  and  by  a  lot  of  idiots  who  believe  that 
a  do-nothing  policy  is  conservatism. 

"The  strongest  argument  made  against  paternalism, 
against  any  comprehensive  extension  of  the  functions 
of  the  government,  is  that  it  will  create  an  army  of 
government  officials  and  workmen  who -will  perpetuate 
themselves  in  power  by  means  of  an  enlarged  political 
machine.  It  is  stated  that  the  power  of  political  pat 
ronage  is  already  too  powerful,  and  that  any  extension 
of  it  is  unwise.  This  argument  is  worth  answering. 
It  contains  a  foundation  in  fact.  Patronage  is  abused, 
butjjet  us  examine  into  the  purely  paternal  features  of 
our  government  and  see  to  what  extent  this  patronage 
is  wielded  for  political  effect.  The  two  purest  exam 
ples  of  state  paternalism  are  found  in  the  public  school 
and  the  post-office.  Both  could  be  carried  on  by  private 
enterprise  and  both  have  competitors  backed  by  enor 
mous  capital.  There  are  private  schools  and  there  are 
wealthy  express  companies.  The  official  patronage  of 
the  public  school  system  is  enormous.  How  often  does 
the  school-teacher  meddle  in  politics?  How  often  is 
his  political  belief  made  a  test  of  his  employment? 
When  have  the  school-teachers  been  enrolled  as  apolit 
ical  factor  in  this  or  in  any  other  country?  Care  is 
even  exercised  in  the  selection  of  school  books,  so  ns  to 
preclude  the  introduction  of  teachings  which  tiud  to 
fortify  religious  or  political  doctrines.  The  public 
school,  with  its  army  of  250,000  teachers  and  officials, 
cannot  be  cited  as  an  argument  against  paternalism. 

"The  post-office  system  is  another  pure  form  of  pater 
nalism.  It  is  but  slightly  tainted  with  the  curse  of 
political  patronage.  The  high  officials  are  generally 


A  flagrant  example  of  paternalism. 
201 


EXTRACTS  FROM    CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES  203 

selected  by  the  party  in  power,  but  the  civil-service 
rule  is  enforced  without  protest.  In  Chicago,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  in  all  the  large  cities  of  the 
country  political  changes  do  not  impair  the  discipline 
of  the  force.  Even  high  officials,  with  authority  to 
employ  and  discharge  hundreds  of  men,  are  not  dis 
turbed  by  meddlesome  politicians  in  the  exercise  of 
their  duties.  There-  may  be  rare  exceptions  to  this  rule, 
but  these  exceptions  prove  the  rule.  The  vast  num 
bers  of  postal  clerks  and  mail  carriers  are  selected  by  a 
civil-service  examination,  and  an  efficient  and  faithful 
workman  can  hold  his  position  for  life  even  under  the 
existing  corrupt  and  partisan  system  of  politics. 

"The  United  States  government  has  immense  navy 
yards  and  government  workshops  filled  with  great  ma 
chinery  and  employing  thousands  of  mechanics  and 
laborers.  Surrounded  as  these  institutions  are  at  pres 
ent  with  an  environment  of  fierce  partisanship  and  cor 
ruption,  these  great  industrial  concerns  are  conducted 
on  a  business  basis.  The  mechanic  is  seldom  selected 
for  his  political  belief  or  disbelief.  In  workmanship 
the  government  workshops  rival  any  private  corpora 
tion  in  existence.  Any  thoughtful  man  who  inspected 
the  government  exhibit  at  the  Columbian  Exposition 
must  have  been  impressed  with  this  fact.  The  superb 
exhibit  was  not  a  Democratic  argument,  it  was  not  a 
Republican  argument.  It  was  a  triumph  for  the  dis 
tinctly  paternal  features  of  our  government  and  a  glori 
ous  contrast  to  the  partisan  exhibit  which  was  being 
displayed  at  that  very  time  in  the  senate  chamber  of 
the  United  States  capitol  at  Washington.  The  splen 
did  exhibit  of  the  fish  commission  which  is  filling  our 
lakes  and  rivers  with  game  fish  at  the  expense  and  under 
the  direct  management  of  the  government;  the  distri 
bution  of  seed  to  farmers  and  the  scientific  development 
of  new  fruit  and  food  products;  the  equipment  and  ex 
tension  of  the  signal  and  life-saving  systems;  the  erad 
ication  of  fruit  and  grain  destroying  insects;  the  per 
fection  of  precautions  against  cholera  and  other  conta 
gious  diseases— these  are  a  few  of  the  paternal  features 


204  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

of  the  government  which  were  displayed  at  Chicago  in 
the  splendid  exhibit  of  the  United  States. 

"The  paternal  features  of  the  United  States  are  the 
ones  which  have  saved  it  from  destruction;  the  ones 
of  which  the  people  are',  proud;  the  ones  which  reflect 
the  progress  of  our  civilization.  The  great  mass  of  the 
people  are  in  favor  of  these  paternal  features,  but  they 
meekly  join  in  a  chorus  pf  condemnation  when  some 
fool  politician  or  editor  warns  them  against  'paternal 
ism,'  as  if  it  were  something  little  less  than  a  crime. 

"The  postal  system  of  the  United  States  and  the  fire 
departments  of  several  of  our  large  cities  are  not  only 
the  finest  illustrations  of -paternalism,  but  they  are  the 
most  superb  illustration  of  mechanical  and  scientific 
progress  in  the  world.  There  is  nothing  in  private  en 
terprise  that  can  approach  them.  They  are  in  acute 
touch  with  the  progress  of  to-day.  They  are  ever  ready 
to  test  any  promising  improvement  and  to  adopt  it  if 
it  proves  of  value.  They  are  not  conducted  for  profit, 
but  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  people. 

"While  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  been 
stupidly  listening  to  the  denunciation  of  paternalism, 
the  monarchies  of  the  old  world  have  been  putting  into 
operation  many  wise  plans  for  the  betterment  of  the 
people.  Germany  has  adopted  a  pension  system  by 
which  the  faithful  workman,  after  serving  a  term  of 
years,  receives  from  the  government  a  stipend  sufficient 
to  support  his  declining  years.  In  this  country  we  send 
him  to  the  poorhouse. 

"Australia  has  abolished  the  private  monopoly  of 
railroads  and  telegraph  lines,  and  given  to  the  people 
the  finest  service  in  the  world.  In  France  and  even  in 
Spain  the  spread  of  paternalism  has  been  noted. 

"It  has  remained,  however,  for  Glasgow,  the  leading 
municipality  of  Scotland,  to  give  the  world  an  example 
of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  wise  paternalism.  Un 
der  the  leadership  of  local  statesmen  that  city,  ten 
years  ago,  began  to  undo  the  blunders  of  former  years. 
It  has  taken  charge  of  its  street-car  lines  and  given  the 
people  a  splendid  service,  It  dispenses  with  the  private 


EXTRACTS   FROM    CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES  205 

gas  and  electric  lighting  companies  and  furnishes  its 
citizens  with  these  necessities  at  half  the  monopoly 
prices.  It  has  established  a  public  telephone  service 
at  reasonable  rates,  and  from  these  and  other  enter 
prises  it  derives  all  needed  revenue  and  has  abolished 
local  taxation. 

"Is  there  anything  wild  or  visionary  about  this? 
There  is  not  the  slightest  reason  why  New  York,  Chi 
cago,  Indianapolis,  and  in  fact  every  city  in  the  United 
States  should  not  take  immediate  steps  to  follow  Glas 
gow's  example.  They  should  own  and  operate  street 
car  lines,  gas  and  electric  lights,  telephones  and  other 
great  public  enterprises.  They  would  derive  enormous 
incomes  from  these  paternal  features  and  their  citizens 
would  be  relieved  of  the  immense  tax  now  paid  into 
the  pockets  of  stockholders. 

"The  triumphs  of  paternalism  in  the  United  States 
have  been  achieved  in  the  face  of  tremendous  odds. 
They  have  approached  perfection  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  they  have  been  surrounded  with  an  atmosphere 
of  hostile  partisanship,  and  menaced  by  corruption 
and  the  greed  of  private  competition.  Unscrupulous 
partisans  have  attempted  to  use  them;  corrupt  officials 
have  stolen  or  diverted  the  funds  which  should  have 
gone  to  them,  political  bigots  have  railed  against 
them;  economists  like  Homan  of  Indiana  have  cut 
down  the  appropriations  which  rightfully  belonged  to 
them,  but  they  have  survived  and  grown  more  beauti 
ful — a  lily  in  a  quagmire,  the  one  redeeming  feature 
in  an  age  of  political  degeneracy, 

"Wipe  out  this  corrupt  political  system,  which  pro 
tects  the  individual  official  in  the  robbery  of  the  public. 

"Give  the  people  the  power  to  elect  their  officers  by 
majorities  and  to  remove  them  when  unfaithful  to  their 
trusts. 

"Invest  in  the  people  the  right  to  pass  laws  for  their 
improvement  and  the  last  argument  against  the  scien 
tific  development  of  paternalism  shall  be  swept  away. 
The  school,  the  post-office,  the  government  workshops, 
and  all  other  paternal  industries  will  then  be  planted 
in  a  friendly  soil  and  thrive  as  never  before. 


206  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

UI  am  not  advocating  a  paternalism  or  a  nationalism 
which  shall  subjugate  the  individual — which  shall  es 
tablish  a  monopoly  of  production  and  of  labor.  I  be 
lieve  that  the  government  should  assume  the  exclusive 
right  to  maintain  an  army  and  to  issue  money,  and 
own  and  manage  the  great  interstate  railway  lines. 
More  than  that  it  does  not  require.  To  those  who  de 
mand  competition  the  government  will  act  as  a  com 
petitor.  If  private  enterprise  can  safely  and  econom 
ically  carry  letters  and  perform  postal  service  permit 
them  to  do  so  and  let  the  government  compete  with 
them.  The  fittest  will  survive.  If  the  government  can 
manufacture  guns  and  sewing  machines  and  fairly 
compete  with  private  enterprises  the  government  should 
engage  in  such  enterprises.  If  the  millions  of  idle 
men  in  this  country  can  find  remunerative  employment 
in  the  government  manufacture  of  agricultural  imple 
ments,  boots  and  shoes,  cotton  goods,  woolens  and 
clothing,no  private  enterprise  has  a  right  to  protest. 

"If  private  enterprise  cannot  compete  in  any  given 
industry  against  the  government  but  one  conclusion  is 
possible — the  government  should  undertake  thai  in 
dustry.  If  the  g  overnment  cannot  compete  in  any  given 
industry  against  private  enterprise  but,  one  conclusion 
is  possible — the  government  should  abandon  that  en 
terprise  and  devote  its  attention  to  something  else. 
There  need  be  nothing  unfriendly  in  this  competition. 
If  the  government  shall  undertake,  let  us  say,  the 
manufacture  of  shoes,  and  in  the  competition  which 
follows  a  certain  shoe  manufacturer  finds  it  impossible 
from  any  cause  to  compete  successfully,  the  govern 
ment  should  stand  ready  to  purchase  his  plant  at  an 
honest  price  and  resume  work  where  he  left  off. 

"  Under  such  a  system  injustice  could  be  done  no 
man.  The  government  would  produce,  manufacture 
and  sell  its  products  a  shade  above  cost  price.  It  would 
sell  to  the  community  at  large.  The  government  could 
lose  nothing  and  the  producer  would  be  able  to  buy- 
back  the  products  of  his  labor.  The  private  competi 
tor  would  be  compelled  to  meet  government  prices.  If 


EXTRACTS   FROM    CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES  207 

his  means  of  production,  management  and  economy 
were  equal  to  that  of  the  government  his  profits  would 
be  in  proportion.  In  so  much  as  he  excelled  the  govern 
ment  he  would  increase  his  profits.  If  he  could  not 
compete — the  logic  of  events  has  simply  demonstrated 
the  superiority  of  government  control  of  that  industry. 
In  such  a  system  ambition  would  not  be  checked  and 
the  spirit  of  invention  would  not  be  stifled.  Well-man 
aged  private  enterprises  would  survive  and  flourish, and 
wages  would  ever  hover  around  the  point  at  which  the 
laborer  could  buy  back  the  products  of  his  toil.  Pri 
vate  capital  would  ever  be  ready  to  embark  in  new  and 
promising  industries  or  to  develop  new  inventions. 
The  inventor  who  desired  to  sell  or  develop  an  inven 
tion  would  find  in  the  government  an  active  competitor 
against  the  private  capitalist." 

EXTRACT    FROM    SPEECH    DELIVERED   AT    ST.    LOUIS, 
SEPT.     19. 

"The  declaration  of  independence  was  written  by  a 
statesman;  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
drafted  by  politicians.  We  look  to  the  declaration  for 
inspiration, to  the  constitution  for  political  trickery. 
The  country  is  governed  by  the  constitution,  and  the 
declaration  is  for  use  only  on  the  Fourth  of  July. 

"The  politicians  who  represented  the  petty  and  jeal 
ous  colonies  in  the  constitutional  convention  had  a 
hearty  hatred  of  majorities  and  a  fear  of  the  people, 
but  it  is  unfair  to  their  memories  to  intimate  that  they 
contemplated  a  constitution  whose  enforcement  would 
result  in  the  existing  subjugation  and  degradation  of 
the  majority.  The}7  could  not  have  anticipated  a  band 
of  protected  freebooters  ready  to  combine  in  a  com 
mon  raid  on  the  people.  The  men  who  drafted  the 
constitution  did  not  knowingly  erect  the  political  ma 
chine  which  has  turned  out  a  Tammany  in  New  York 
and  a' blocks  of  five'  system  in  Indiana  and  Ohio. 

"It  is  idle  to  talk  of  reform  under  any  such  political 
system  as  now  prevails.  If  the  history  of  the  last  100 


208  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

'  years  has  demonstrated  anything  it  is  the  absolute 
failure  of  lepresentative  government.  Do  not  talk  to 
me  about  the  glories  of  this  country.  Its  glories  and 
triumphs  have  been  achieved  in  spite  of  the  constitu 
tion  and  not  because  of  it.  No  system  of  misgovern- 
ment  can  entirely  ruin  this  country.  The  existing  one 
has  gone  the  entire  length  of  imbecility  and  the  coun 
try  triumphantly  survives. 

"No  maladministration  of  affairs,  however  criminal, 
can  entirely  eradicate  happiness.  Some  modern  philos 
opher  has  declared  that  there  is  happiness  in  hell.  He 
must  have  made  his  discover}7  at  the  time  when  Ameri 
can  citizens,  hungry  and  panic-ridden,  were  going 
around  with  smiling  faces  with  a  United  States  Senate 
in  session  at  Washington.  The  American  citizen  in 
recent  years  has  developed  a  patience  and  a  smile  under 
discouraging  circumstances,  which  breeders  of  mules 
would  give  a  fortune  to  successfully  imitate. 

X"A  returning  board  swindles  the  majority  of  the  peo 
ple  out  of  a  presidency,  and  after  pouting  over  it  a  few 
\    days  they  regard  the  steal  as  a  huge  joke. 
^-~  "A  street-car  syndicate  steals  fifty  miles  of   streets 
from  a  city, and  the  citizens  poke  their  alderman  under 
the  ribs,  slyly  wink,  and  ask   him   how   much   he   got. 
This  is   so  good  a  joke  that  the  alderman  buys  the 
\    drinks. 

"Twenty-five   thousand  idle  men  parade  the  streets 

with  banners  demanding  work,  and  the  next  day  every 

newspaper  paragrapher  in  town  has  a  joke  to  the  eilect 

that  what  the  men  needed  most  was  a   bath.     At  this 

excruciating  bit  of   humor   a   great  city  laughs  .until 

\      its  sides  ache.   But  the  day  for  laughing  at  these  things 

V   is  past.     Good   humor  and  cheerfulness  is  an  excellent 

\  thing  when  it  is  not  accompanied  by  asininity. 

v  "This  country  has  attained  a  degree  of  prosperity  be 
cause  unwise  laws  and  thieving  politicians  were  not 
potent  enough  to  overcome  natural  advantages.  The 
pioneer  who  drifted  into  the  west  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  fortune  without  the  aid  and  without  the  restraint 
of  any  form  of  government.  He  became  rich  because 


EXTRACTS   FROM   CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES  209 

he  could  Dot  help  it.  Every  newly  developed  country 
has  been  prosperous  before  the  blighting  influences  of 
our  so-called  civilization  became  fastened  upon  it. 
Look  at  the  state  of  Illinois  to-day.  With  its  imperial 
city  of  Chicago  and  all  its  wealth  the  standard  of  hap 
piness  is  lower  than  it  was  fifty  years  ago.  The  burdens 
which  now  rest  upon  the  country  can  never  be  removed 
until  the  people  are  given  a  voice  in  the  management 
of  their  political  affairs. 

"So  long  as  the  people  permit  themselves  to  be  deluded 
into  a  belief  that  they  are  governing,  so  long  will  they 
be  robbed.  So  long  as  they  cherish  the  shadow,  and 
refuse  to  grasp  the  reality  which  is  in  their  reach,  so 
long  will  they  be  robbed,  and  so  long  will  they  deserve 
to  be  robbed.  The  people  have  had  just  the  kind  of  gov 
ernment  they  deserve.  Their  criminal  carelessness, stupid 
patience  with  wrong-doing  and  inane  complaisance 
with  steadily  encroaching  tyranny, has  had  the  inevita 
ble  result  and  they  are  paying  the  well-deserved  pen 
alty. 

"Representative  government  is  a  failure.  It  is  wrong 
in  principle  and  criminal  in  practice.  It  should  have 
been  repudiated  fifty  years  ago,  when  its  defects  were 
discovered,  but  instead  of  boldly  denouncing  the  mis 
takes  of  the  founders  of  the  constitution  the  people 
have  been  led  by  wily  politicians  into  a  defense  of  the 
very  things  which  struck  down  their  liberties. 

:"Man  is  naturally  honest.  He  is  born  that  way.  He 
learns  dishonesty.  Naturally  a  man  will  do  the  right 
rather  than  the  wrong  thing.  Where  he  is  not  directly 
interested  he  will  decide  fairly  bstween  right  and  wrong, 
Thrown  into  a  contest  where  he  is  compelled  to  strug 
gle  with  others  for  a  living  or  for  advancement,  he  be 
comes  selfish.  This  is  natural.  His  natural  sense  of 
fairness  and  inherent  honesty  becomes  dominated  by 
self-interest.  Few  men  escape  the  action  of  this  gen 
eral  law.  A  representative  system  of  government  is  one 
in  which  a  number  of  people  delegate  to  one  of  their 
number  or  to  several  of  their  number  the  power  to  pass 
Jaws  and  transact  business  in  which  all  are  interested, 


210  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

The  men  they  select  as  representatives  are  also  inter 
ested.  The  theory  of  a  representative  system  is  that 
the  best  men  in  the  community  will  be  selected.  lu 
practice  this  does  not  come  to  pass,  and  even  if  it  should 
it  would  not  save  the  system  from  failure. 

"Only  in  rare  cases  i§  a  representative  elected  on  a 
specific  issue.  Take  a'  state  election.  Eighty  mem 
bers  of  the  lower  house  are  to  be  elected.  In  different 
parts  of  the  state  various  issues  are  being  forced.  There 
are  such  issues  as  mining  reforms,  eight-hour  laws,  tax 
ation  of  corporations,  the  method  of  electing  senators, 
etc.  The  people  elect  representatives  to  decide  these 
issues.  No  representative  can  reflect  the  will  of  his 
constituents  on  all  these  questions.  He  does  not  even 
know  what  the  majority  of  his  constituents  desires. 
More  than  that,  he  does  not  care.  But  all  the  people 
have  decided  views  on  all  of  these  questions.  The  eighty 
representatives  proceed  to  the  state  capital  and  for 
months  the  hotels  are  filled  with  lobbyists  from  all 
parts.  These  questions  are  decided  in  defiance  of  the 
known  will  of  the  majority  and  the  only  recourse  the 
people  have  is  the  right  of  petition.  The  same  is  truo 
of  municipal  councils, 

"The  history  of  state  legislatures  and  city  councils  in 
this  country  is  a  history  of  revolting  and  openly  pa 
raded  corruption,  in  which  the  property  and  sacred 
rights  of  the  people  have  been  bartered  and  sold  with 
as  little  compunction  as  brokers  buy  and  sell  wheat 
and  hogs  on  a  board  of  trade.  There  is  no  need  to 
particularize.  The  record  is  a  shame  to  civilization 
and  the  people  should  have  wiped  out  the  iniquitous 
system  a  generation  ago. 

"In  no  monarchy  or  despotism,  ancient  or  modern, 
have  the  people  been  so  robbed  by  corrupt  and  insati 
ate  officials  as  in  the  United  States.  From  the  Alaska 
seal-thieving  syndicate  in  the  United  States  Senate  to 
the  petty  thief  who  steals  postage  stamps  in  a  country 
town  the  taint  of  corruption  is  spread.  The  people  do 
not  even  have  the  power  to  depose  an  official  when  he 
is  detected  iu  rascality.  They  have  given  their  author- 


EXTRACTS   FROM  CAMPAIGN    SPEECHES  211 

ity  for  a  term  of  years  to  an  agent  they  are  powerless 
to  discharge  or  discipline.  He  can  serve  his  term  and 
draw  his  salary  in  spite  of  the  people,  unless  by  proc 
ess  of  law  they  succeed  in  landing  him  in  the  peniten 
tiary. 

'The  people  should  not  be  compelled  to  surrender 
their  rights  to  a  representative.  It  may  be  policy  to 
transact  certain  routine  work  by  means  of  a  represent 
ative  body,  but  on  all  laws,  issues  and  large  expend 
itures  of  "money  in  which  the  whole  people  are  inter 
ested,  and  by  which  they  must  be  governed,  the  people 
should  cast  the  vote,  yes  or  no,  and  the  minority 
should  abide  by  the  result  without  appeal  to  any 
higher  authority. 

"There  should  be,  there  is,  no  higher  authority  than 
the  people.  Laws  have  created  many  such  higher 
courts  of  appeal  and  they  have  ever  decided  against  the 
people.  These  petty  monarchs,  these  usurping  rulers 
should  be  deposed,  and  the  laws  creating  them  should 
be  abolished. 

:The  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  has -overthrown  every 
law  in  which  the  farmers  and  wageworkers  of  that 
state  have  directly  interested  themselves. 

"The  people  passed  a  law  providing  for  a  weekly  pay 
day.     The  Supreme  Court  declared  it  unconstitutional. 
"The  people  passed  a  law  against  the  crime  of  child 
labor  in  factories,    mines   and    stores.     The    Supreme 
Court  declared  it  unconstitutional. 

"The  people  passed  a  law  against  the  iniquitous  sys 
tem  of  truck  stores.  The  Supreme  Court  declared  it 
unconstitutional. 

"The  list  might  be  continued  indefinitely.  In  every 
instance  where  a  newly  passed  law  operated  to  the  ad 
vantage  of  the  workman  as  against  that  of  his  employer 
the  Supreme  Court  promptly  and  enthusiastically  de 
clared  that  law  unconstitutional,  and  the  people  were 
forever  checked  from  obtaining  legal  redress  for  their 
wrongs. 

"The  right  of  the  majority  to  rule  will  be  secured 
only  after  a  feariul  struggle,  The  issue  of  majority 


212  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

rule  will  be  fought  inch  by  inch  by  every  great  corpora 
tion,  thieving  syndicate,  money  shark,  office-holding 
politician,  and  by  the  combined  forces  of  those  whose 
supremacy  would  be  imperiled  by  the  rule  of  the  ma 
jority. 

"For  one  hundred  years  Privilege  has  been  rearing 
a  wall  against  the  people.  It  is  intrenched  behind 
this  wall  with  its  thousands  of  court  decisions  in 
favor  of  monopoly  and  against  the  people.  Able  ad 
vocates  will  tell  you  that  it  is  not  wise  that  the  people 
should  have  a  direct  vote  on  laws;  that  it  is  un- 
American  and  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  American  insti 
tutions;  that  people  who  advocate  any  such  measure 
are  attempting  to  overthrow  the  work  of  Washington 
and  Jefferson,  consecrated  by  Lincoln,  Grant  and  Gar- 
field.  They  will  call  you  anarchists,  socialists  and 
revolutionists  in  an  impartial  and  indiscriminate  man 
ner.  They  will  thereby  convince  a  great  many  men 
that  the  people  are  not  safe  rulers  for  themselves.  They 
will  spend  untold  millions  of  dollars  in  an  attempt  to 
defeat  popular  ruJe.  They  will  spend  this  money  fool 
ishly  and  in  vain-foolishly  for  the  reason  that  the  peo 
ple  will,  when  successful,  in  no  way  encroach  upon  their 
rights  or  attempt  to  confiscate  their  property;  in  vain 
for  the  reason  that  the  people  are  no  longer  to  be  kept 
away  from  their  birthright." 

EXTRACT    FROM    SPEECH    DELIVERED   AT    ST.    PAUL, 
OCT.     14. 

"Under  our  present  industrial  system  we  are  depend 
ent  on  the  wages  of  the  man  who  runs  the  machine. 
Capitalists  and  the  independent  classes  are  small  in 
numbers.  The  farmer  cannot  consume  the  total  prod 
ucts  of  his  fields.  He  looks  to  the  workman  in  the 
city  as  his  customer.  When  a  thing  is  produced  it  must 
be  sold  or  permitted  to  rot.  If  4,000,000  men  are  work 
ing  in  factories  and  new  machinery  throws  3,000,000 
of  them  out  of  work  the  wages  of  the  remaining  1,000,- 
000  must  be  nearly  sufficient  to  purchase  the  same 
amount  of  the  product  of  the  factories  as  was  formerly 


EXTRACTS  FROM    CAMPAIGN  SPEECHES  213 

bought  by  the  wages  of  the  4,000,000.  Otherwise  a 
surplus  is  inevitable.  The  non-producers  depend  on 
the  wages  of  the  producers.  Stated  broadly,  therefore, 
the  wages  of  the  wokrnan  must  be  sufficient  to  purchase 
back  the  increment  his  labor  has  added  to  raw  material 
-after  a  fair  profit  has  been  deducted  by  the  capital  em 
ployed  in  manufacture. 

"The  logical  and  theoretical  end  of  the  development 
of  machinery  is  one  vast  machine,  manipulated  by  one 
workman,  and  owned  by  one  capitalist — the  workman 
the  sole  wage-earner  and  the  capitalist  and  the  work 
man  constituting  the  consuming  class.  They  would 
pay  all  taxes,  support  the  government,  and  maintain 
a  police  and  standing  army  to  preserve  the  peace.  The 
wage-earner  would  receive  the  lowest  rate  of  wages  at 
which  any  efficient  workman  would  consent  to  run  the 
machine,  and  would  go  on  a  strike  whenever  he  could 
organize  himself.  The  machine  would  run  until  a  sur 
plus  was  created,  which  would  be  in  about  fifteen 
seconds.  An  industrial  depression  would  then  ensue 
until  the  workman,  capitalist,  and  the  several  millions 
of  idle  workmen,  paupers,  criminals  and  tax-eaters  had 
consumed  the  surplus,  when  business  would  revive  and 
a  new  panic  and  depression  follow.  We  have  been 
rapidly  approaching  this  beautiful  condition  of  affairs 
for  thirty-five  years,  a  condition  disastrous  to  every 
.member  of  society,  and  one  which  can  be  commended 
by  no  man  possessed  of  one  grain  of  common  sense  or 
actuated  by  that  political  horse  sense  which  is  the  best 
kind  of  patriotism. 

"Look  over  the  United  States  to-day.  There  are 
great  factories  filled  with  machinery  so  perfect  that  if 
can  almost  think.  It  stands  idle  and  the  corroding 
touch  of  time  is  frosting  the  delicate  mechanism  with 
rust.  Strong  and  willing  workmen  look  wistfully 
through  the  windows  and  watch  in  vain  for  a  wreath 
of  srnoke  from  the  great  chimneys.  In  the  warehouses 
are  manufactured  goods  for  which  no  purchaser  calls. 
A  million  people  are  in  need  of  these  necessities  of  life 
which  swift-moving  machinery  has  so  easily  fashioned. 


214  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

The  capitalist  paces  through  the  deserted  rooms  of  the 
factory  and  looks  sadly  at  the  decaying  machinery. 
Taxes,  insurance  and  perhaps  rent  are  eating  their  way 
into  his  pocket  and  destroying  his  capital.  The  morn 
ing  paper  says  that  the  stock  in  that  factory  dropped 
three  points  on  the  exchange  the  day  before.  Twenty- 
five  thousand  hungry  men  march  through  the  streets 
of  a  great  city.  A  reformer  timidly  suggests  that  some 
thing  is  wrong  in  our  industrial  system.  Four  thou 
sand  editors  and  10,000  preachers  pronounce  him  a 
crank  and  a  fool,  who  cannot  understand  the  spirit  of 
American  institutions." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE   WILL   OF    THE    MAJORITY. 

A  STATESMAN  had  lifted  a  party  from  obscurity  and 
made  it  a  power  in  politics,  The  People's  party,  as  it 
existed  in  1888,  '90,  '92  and  '93,  had  passed  away,  and 
only  its  name  survived.  No  longer  a  coterie  of  green- 
hackers,  trade  unionists,  debt-ridden  farmers  and  po- 
Jitical  faddists,  it  had  been  transformed  into  a  political 
party  of  the  sternest  American  type,  American  in  its 
platform,  its  leaders  and  its  methods.  Self-interest 
had  been  eliminated  from  its  platform  and  statesman 
ship  substituted.  Its  orators  fearlessly  demanded  the 
rule  of  the  majority,  and  with  that  as  a  battle  cry  they 
carried  the  fight  into  the  very  strongholds  of  the  enemy. 

In  Boston  a  "Majority  Rule  Club"  was  organized. 
The  idea  spread  like  ^wild  fire.  Majority  rule  clubs 
sprang  up  everywhere*  and  embraced  in  their  member 
ship  all  classes  of  citizens.  Not  since  1828,  when  the 
people  of  the  United  States  repudiated  President  Adams 
— who  had  served  a  term  after  being  elected  by  a  minor 
ity  vote  of  105,000,  as  against  Jackson's  155,000 — and  a 
second  time  triumphantly  elected  and  inaugurated  Jack 
son,  had  such  a  political  revolution  swept  the  country. 

For  twenty  years  the  people  had  been  waiting  to 
break  away  from  the  old  parties.  They  had  waited  long 
and  patiently  for  a  man  and  an  issue.  There  had  been 
third  parties,  but  neither  their  platforms  nor  leaders 
commanded  general  respect. 

For  twenty  years  the  political  discontent  of  the  peo 
ple  manifested  itself  in  an  unmistakable  manner.  Like 
a  caged  panther  they  paced  the  short  limit  of  their 

215 


216  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

cage,  reversing  again  and  again,  only  to  be  confronted 
bp  the  same  old  iron  bars  and  prodded  by  the  same  old 
trainers.  In  1876  they  repudiated  the  Republican  party 
and  elected  Tilden  by  a  popular  majority  (not  plural 
ity),  but  were  counted  out  by  the  party  in  power.  In 
the  four  years  of  Hayes'  administration  the  financial 
depression  eased  and  Garfield  obtained  an  election  on  a 
minority  vote.  Hard  times  again  returned  and  the  peo 
ple  wanted  "a  change."  They  elected  Cleveland  and 
in  four  years  more  repudiated  him  and  took  the  back 
track.  One  term  of  the  old  Republicanism  was  enough 
to  again  sicken  the  people  and  they  demanded  and  ob 
tained  another  change.  Cleveland  was  again  elected 
by  sweeping  pluralities. 

One  year  after  his  election  the  Republicans  swept  the 
country  on  the  issue  of  hard  times.  The  same  men  who 
voted  against  Blaine  and  Harrison  on  account  of  the 
then  prevailing  hard  times  voted  in  1893  for  McKinley 
and  Jackson  and  other  Republicans  on  the  same  issue. 

But  the  panther  was  becoming  more  restless.  He 
threw  himself  against  the  bars  more  recklessly.  In 
1890  Chicago  went  Republican  by  10,000  majority.  In 

1892  it  went  35,000  Democratic.'    In  1893  it  went  7,- 
500  Republican.     Six  months  later  it  went  1,500  Dem 
ocratic.   In  1892  New  York  State  went  Democratic  45,- 
000,  and  a  year  later  it  went  Republican  75,000. 

What  good  did  all  this  do?  The  people  were  simply 
electing  one  set  of  men  and  repudiating  another.  In 

1893  hundreds  of  thousands  of  disgusted    citizens  re 
mained    away  from  the  polls   and  no  pleading   could 
persuade  them  to  vote.     The  result  was    received  with 
apathy  except  by  a  few  dupes    who  imagined   that  in 
some  way  the  country  would  be  benefited.     Free  trade 
has  been  rebuked,  they  said.     In    that  election  there 
had    not  been  a  man  elected  who  had  any  voice  in  de 
ciding  on  tariff  or  any  other  national  measure.     A  few 
men  had  secured  political  jobs,  and  the  people  had  been 
accorded  their  annual  privilege  of  "voting." 

Affairs  were  changed  in  1900.  Old  party  lines  were 
obliterated.  From  one  end  of  the  country  to  another 


THE   WILL   OF   THE    MAJORITY  217 

the  people  demanded  "a  change"  which  would  amount 
to  something.  In  vain  protection  orators  addressed 
themselves  to  workingmen ;  in  vain  old-time  Democrats 
protested  that  the  Democratic  party  was  the  repository 
of  the  hopes  of  the  people.  There  was  a  new  south,  a 
new  west  and  a  new  northwest.  Bourbon  politics  re 
tained  its  hold  only  in  the  east  and  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  and  in  the  extreme  south.  Early  in  the  campaign 
the  Republicans  abandoned  all  hope  of  carrying  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  Iowa, Minnesota  and  the  Pacific  coast  states. 
They  realized  that  Illinois  and  the  central  northwestern 
states  were  in  danger  and  poured  money  into  them 
without  stint.  They  made  their  stand  in  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  with  a  corruption  fund 
exceeding  $5,000,000  conducted  a  campaign  which  will 
never  be  forgotten  in  American  politics.  They  had 
able  speakers  and  writers.  They  organized  a  literary 
bureau  and  buried  the  country  under  a  flood  of  pam 
phlets.  The  autumn  sky  was  red  with  fireworks,  and 
processions  of  men  paid  for  the  purpose  paraded  the 
streets  of  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg 
and  New  York. 

Every  trick  of  the  politician  was  brought  into  play. 
The  manufacturers,  capitalists  and  business  men  were 
scared  into  giving  liberally,  and  the  day  of  the  election 
found  the  Republicans  with  an  enormous  campaign 
fund  on  hand.  It  wag  used.  In  large  and  small  cities 
bribery  was  openly  practiced.  In  a  subsequent  inves 
tigation  it  was  ascertained  that  in  New  York  City  alone 
30,000  votes  were  bought  and  delivered. 

The  Democrats  were  handicapped  and  disorganized. 
The  south 'was  in  revolt.  The  new  generation  of  the 
south  was  tired  of  hearing  the  war  talked  about.  That 
splendid  section  was  held  back  by  existing  conditions, 
and  the  southern  voters  refused  to  follow  the  old-time 
leaders.  The  new  party  cut  the  Democrats  in  two  in 
several  of  the  pivotal  states,  and  early  in  the  campaign 
it  became  apparent  that  Hild  was  defeated. 

Judge  Smith  closed  the  campaign  in  Chicago,  holding 
bis  Uiat  meeting  in  Manufacturers'  Hall  on  the  lake 


218  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

front.  One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  crowded 
in  and  around  the  great  building  The  meeting  was  a 
surprise  to  the  local  politicians,  but  they  were  not  pre 
pared  for  what  followed. 

Election  day  passed  quietly  and  an  immense  vote 
was  cast.  The  afternoon  papers  claimed  everything 
for  their  respective  sides,  but  the  people  patiently 
waited.  In  the  evening  the  streets  of  Chicago  were 
blocked  by  a  surging  mob.  The  newspaper  offices  were 
the  points  of  interest.  The  first  bulletins  were  of  the 
usual  vague,"  speculative  nature  and  varied  with  the 
politics  of  the  newspaper  men  at  the  opposite  ends  of 
the  wire.  Here  are  some  of  the  early  bulletins  which 
set  the  crowd  howling: 

"The  Sun  estimates  that  Hild  has  carried  New  York 
State  by  45,000  majority." 

"Kimbly  has  carried  Ohio  by  a  large  majority." 

"Ten  precincts  in  Burlington,  Vt.,  give  Kimbly  908, 
Hild  840,  Smith  648." 

"Who  is  Smith?  Seems  as  if  I  have  heard  the  name 
before." 

"Texas  has  gone  Democratic  by  from  150,000  to  200,- 
000  majority." 

"South  Carolina  is  Democratic  by  the  usual  large 
majority." 

"The  Cincinnati  Commercial- Gazette  claims  Kim 
bly 's  election  by  a  large  popular  majority." 

The  first  authentic  news  from  New  York  State  came 
over  the  wire  about  8:20  in  the  evening.  It  read: 

Two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  precincts  give: 

Hild 28,427 

Smith , .25,812 

Kimbly 12,713 

A  roar  went  up  from  the  street  which  brought  every 
busy  writer  in  the  newspaper  offices  to  the  windows. 
While  the  cheering  was  still  in  progress  the  bulletin 
disappeared  and  this  one  flashed  across  the  street: 

Four  hundred  and  ten  precincts  in  Philadelphia 
give: 


The  last  rally  before  election. 


THE    WILL    OF    THE    MAJORITY  221 

Kimbly 41,318 

Hild 83,917 

Smith 50,428 

The  wildest  excitement  prevailed.  In  the  clubs  and 
in  the  Republican  and  Democratic  headquarters  the 
assembled  politicians  refused  to  believe  the'news  until 
private  telegrams  confirmed  the  report  that  in  the  cities 
Smith  was  running  even  or  ahead  of  Hild  and  Kirnbly. 
Judge  Smith  received  the  returns  at  the  People's  head 
quarters  on  Adams  Street.  Out  in  the  streets  the  cheer 
ing  mob  yelled  itself  hoarse.  Here  are  some  of  the  bul 
letins  displayed  before  11  o'clock: 

Chicago — Twenty-nine  precincts  give: 

Hild . 2, 172 

Kimbly 1,841 

Smith 5,874 

New  York  City — Seven  hundred  and  twenty-nine  pre 
cincts  give: 

Hild 71,118 

Kimbly 85,021 

Smith 85,490 

Smith's  plurality,  14,372 

The  New  York  Herald  estimates  that  Smith  has 
carried  New  York  by  from  25,000  to  30,000  majority. 

Chairman  Matt  Quinn  of  the  Republican  national 
committee  claims  New  York  State  by  15,000  majority. 

Seventy-two  cities  and   towns  in  Connecticut  give: 

Kimbly 48, 121 

Hild 1 7, 433 

Smith 46,207 

Charleston,  S,  C. — Charleston  has  gone  Populist  by 
not  less  than  5,000  majority.    The  Populists  are  claim-- 
ing  the  state  by  40,000  majority. 

Burlington,  Iowa — Smith  and  Foster  have  swept 
Iowa  by  not  less  than  85,000  majority. 

San  Francisco,  Cal. — Judge  Smith  has  carried  San 
Francisco  by  30,000  majority.  Chairman  Potter  esti 
mates  Smith's  plurality  in  the  state  at  150,000. 

Burlington,  Iowa  (11  o'clock) — Nine  hundred  and 
eighty  towns  and  precincts  in  Iowa  give; 


222  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

Smith   178,640 

Kimbly 55, 924 

Hild 37,683 

Smith's  plurality  117,716. 

St.  Paul,  Mirm.—  Scattering  reports  indicate  heavy 
Populist  gains.  The  Republicans  claim  the  state  by  a 
small  majority. 

Pittsburg,  Pa.— Pittsburg  gives  Smith  28,000  ma 
jority.  The  Populists  claim  the  state  by  a  good  major 
ity.  Returns  are  coming  in  slowly. 

New  York  City— Returns  are  coming  in  very  elowly. 
The  Populists  have  probably  carried  New  York  City 
and  the  state  by  large  majorities. 

New  York  City  (11:15  o'clock)— The  Associated  Press 
reports  indicate  the  election  of  Judge  Smith  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States. 

Cleveland,  O.  (11:85  o'clock) — Governor  Kimbly 
concedes  Judge  John  Smith's  election  and  has  just  for 
warded  him  the  following  telegram: 

<<  CINCINNATI,  O.,  Nov.  5,  1900— To  Judge  John  Smith, 
Chicago, 111. :  Permit  me  to  congratulate  you  on  the 
most  stupendous  popular  victory  ever  attained  by  an 
American  citizen.  Accept  my  sincere  congratulations. 

"MARK  KIMBLY." 

In  the  exuberance  of  their  joy  men  laughed  and  cried. 
Frenzied  crowds  paraded  the  streets  all  night.  Men 
who  had  voted  the  Republican  and  Democratic  tickets 
joined  in  the  popular  victory.  The  landslide  was  so 
sweeping  that  party  ties  were  sundered  and  every  one 
seemed  to  go  with  the  victors. 

The  day  after  the  election  brought  no  subsidence  of 
the  excitement.  As  the  returns  came  in  the  victory 
appeared  more  sweeping.  Here  are  a  few  editorial 
comments: 

New  York  Herald — The  People's  party  has  swept  the 
country.  The  west  and  the  south,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  Texas,  have  cast  their  votes  for  Smith  and 
Foster.  New  York  State  has  gone  Populist  by  not 
less  than  50,000  majority.  Pennsylvania  for  the  first 
time  in  forty  years  has  repudiated  a  Republican  presi- 


THE   WILL  OF   THE   MAJORITY  223 

dential   candidate.     The   HERALD   has  no  comment  to 
make  on  the  result.   None  is  necessary. 

Chicago  Inter  Ocean — Governor  Kimbly's  election  is 
in  doubt.  The  result  is  a  surprise  and  can  be  accounted 
for  on  no  other  grounds  than  that  the  people  want  a 
change.  There  was  a  decided  tailing  off  in  the  Republi 
can  vote.  Thank  God,  the  Democrats  did  not  win  any 
how. 

Louisville  Courier- Journal — The  Democratic  part}7 
is  dead  and  no  smirking  Republican  is  alive  to  follow 
the  hearse.  In  the  face  of  the  popular  uprising  of  the 
people  the  COURIER-JOURNAL  has  no  invidious  comments 
to  make.  The  star-eyed  goddess  of  reform  is  safe  in 
the  company  of  Judge  John  Smith.  As  Democrats  we 
take  off  our  hats  and  shout:  "Long  live  the  reign  of 
the  people." 

New  York  Mail  and  Express — The  latest  advice  indi 
cates  the  temporary  triumph  of  anarchy,  lawlessness 
and  Judge  Smith  The  Republicans  have  not  yet  aban 
doned  all  hope.  The  Democratic  party  is  wiped  out  of 
existence.  There  is  some  consolation  in  that. 

Bangor  Express — Maine  was  true  to  her  traditions 
and  is  still  in  line.  We  cannot  realize  that  the  country 
has  departed  from  its  time-honored  traditions. 

Wednesday  the  returns  from  New  York  State  gave 
Smith  48,000  majority  Thursday's  figures  cut  this 
down  to  32,000.  The  following  day  it  was  announced 
that  owing  to  mistakes  in  the  count  this  figure  would 
be  considerably  reduced  In  three  days  Smith's  major 
ity  in  Pennsylvania  decreased  from  70,000  to  15,000, 
and  in  Ohio  from  35,000  to  8,000.  Saturday  afternoon 
the  Chicago  Tribune  displayed  a  bulletin  claiming  Kirn- 
bly's  election.  Scenes  of  wild  excitement  followed. 
Newspaper  offices  were  besieged  by  mobs  of  people  and 
all  manner  of  exciting  rumors  prevailed. 

There  was  a  scent  of  bribery  everywhere.  A  Chicago 
paper  published  a  dispatch  from  New  York  giving  the 
details  of  a  Republican-Democratic  conspiracy  to  steal 
the  election.  In  later  years  the  details  of  that  account 
were  verified.  Tuesday  night,  when  it  became  evident 


224  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

that  Smith  had  carried  practically  everything  except 
the  Atlantic  states,  a  meeting  of  New  York  politicians 
was  hurriedly  called.  Messengers  were  sent  in  different 
directions,  and  at  midnight  in  a  room  at  the  Hoffman 
House  the  plans  were  laid.  Tammany  agreed  to  deliver 
New  York  to  the  Republicans  and  a  representative  of 
the  Pennsylvania  political  syndicate  agreed  to  take 
care  of  the  state.  The  people  had  few  election  clerks 
or  judges,  and  the  task  was  not  a  difficult  one. 

The  returns  were  withheld  and  falsified  in  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  Ohio  and  Michigan.  In 
the  latter  state  eight  electoral  votes  were  needed  and 
would  have  been  obtained  had  not  a  Grand  Rapids 
newspaper  man  discovered  the  conspiracy.  As  it  was, 
six  districts  were  successfully  manipulated.  For  this 
job  thirty  men  were  subsequently  convicted  and  sen 
tenced  to  long  terms  in  state  penitentiaries.  But  they 
had  done  their  thieving  work  well.  After  28,000  votes 
had  been  stolen  in  New  York  State,  38, 000  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  40, 000  in  Ohio,  20, 000'in  Massachusetts  and  31,- 
000  in  Michigan  the  official  count  gave  the  result 
indicated  in  the  table  on  the  opposite  page. 

According  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
there  was  no  election  and  it  devolved  upon  the  House 
of  Representatives  to  select  a  President.  The  mere  fact 
that  Smith  had  carried  twenty-seven  out  of  the  total  of 
forty-five  states  and  had  received  twice  the  vote  of  any 
opposing  candidate  and  a  majority  of  all  the  votes 
cast,  made  not  the  slightest  difference.  The  805  votes 
of  New  York  State,  representing  the  stolen  plurality, 
cast  thirty-two  votes  in  the  electoral  college  and  offset 
the  thirty-two  electoral  votes  of  California, Minnesota, 
Kansas  and  Montana  with  their  650.000  majority. 

The  rage  of  the  people  knew  no  bounds.  In  New 
York  a  mob  sacked  Tammany  Hall  and  burned  the 
buildingto  the  ground.  Several  of  the  Tammany  chiefs 
who  were  under  suspicion  were  roughly  used,  and  but 
for  the  intervention  of  leading  Populists  would  have 
been  killed.  In  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  Chicago 
wild  mobs  paraded  the  streets  and  in  several  instances 


STATES  WITH  REPUBLICAN  PLURALITIES  AND  THEIR  ELECTORAL  VOTES. 


States. 

o-a 

"<B 

EC 
a 

Cfl 

3 

er*j 

y.*gB 

Sr».S'<3 

p""1  £<a    ' 

£T 

Electoral 
vote. 

Conn  
Me         

68,714      - 
58,327 

43,103 
23,604 

61,823 

44,982 

6,991 
12,345 

6 
6 

Mass  
Mich  
N.  H  

JH-  

201,781 
122,644 
43,618 
146,388 
509,622 

58,728 
48,623 
16,241 
75,911 
427,213 

198,320 
118,742 
36,820 
138,161 
509,317 

3,461 
8,902 

6,798 

8,227 
305 

15 

7 
4 
10 
36 

Ohio  

306,121 

297,681 

301,280 

4,841 

?3 

Pa 

415,849 

274,303 

402,111 

13,638 

33 

R.I  
Vt  

28,326 
32,416 

17,812 

7,293 

19,641 
26,313 

8,685 
6,100 

4 
4 

Totals  

1,932.803 

1,290,512 

1,857,510 

75,293 

147 

STATES  WITH   DEMOCRATIC   PLURALITIES  AND  THEIR     ELECTORAL   VOTES. 


M 

a 

Cfl 

w    V 

M 

States. 

§3 

a. 

3 

MJ« 

o« 

. 

•*" 

E3"£|    ~.®Z 

?§ 

: 

Odw 

g 

Dela 

11  398 

16291 

16  103 

188 

3 

Texas  

23.814 

225,747 

218,614 

7,133 

15 

Virg  
S.  Car  

62,212 

4,822 

136,614 
47,815 

135,590 
46,812 

5,024 
1,003 

12 
9 

N.  Car  

43,662 

192,218 

182,741 

9,477 

11 

Mo  

141,600 

238,101 

236,418 

1,683 

17 

Mar'ld  

63,817 

92,281 

84,512 

7,769 

8 

Total  

331,354 

949,067 

916,790 

32,277 

75 

STATES   WITH   PEOPLE'S  PARTY    PLURALITIES  AND  THEIR   ELECTORAL   VOTES. 


States. 

o-S 
CT3 

ffi 

CL 

in 

3 

3- 

ft 

rt^ 

W5  W 

[Electoral 
1  vote. 

Ala 

65  728 

188  321 

112  593 

Ark... 

23  814 

41  914 

108  648 

58  73<i 

g 

Cal    . 

82  119 

76  416 

239  937 

157  818 

Q 

Col  

12,555 

109  412 

94  857 

4 

Fla... 

14818 

29  747 

14  929 

4. 

Ga  

81  684 

178  814 

97  130 

13 

Idaho  

6,714 

15,746 

9632 

3 

Ill 

238  396 

228  864 

374  101 

•JOK    irAK 

91 

Ind  
Iowa  
Kan  

122,399 

'       86,401 
86,682 

141,428 

58,063 

357,848 
373,717 
329  146 

216,420 
287,316 
242  464 

15 
13 
10 

Mich  
Ky  
La  

62.417 
32,446 

52,241 
133,192 
28  742 

188,446 
238,430 
116  318 

86,019 
105,238 
87  576 

7 
13 

g 

Minn,  

108  559 

53918 

295  422 

186  863 

g 

Miss  

15  843 

57  31°) 

41  476 

g 

Men,  

7,767 

73982 

66  215 

3 

Neb  

36422 

213  431 

177  009 

8 

Nev  

1,480 

12  617 

11,137 

3 

N.  Dak.... 

12,902 

47  588 

34686 

3 

Tenn... 

Wash  

32,726 
15,616 

61,717 

212  464 

88992 

150,747 
73,376 

12 
4 

W.  Va  
Wis  
Wyo  

27,411 

108,883 
6223 

43,929 

101,828 

138,820 
209,862 
26  141 

94,891 

100  97'.) 
19,818 

6 
12 
3 

Ore  

22,373 

64,914 

42,541 

4 

S.  Dak  

19,822 

83617 

63,795 

4 

Totals  

1,145,127 

1,200,725 

4,373,866 

2,771,866 

222 

225 


226  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

RECAPITULATION.                      Kimbly.          Hild.  Smith. 

Republican  states 1,932,803  1,290,512  1,857,510 

Democratic  states 331,354           949,067  916,790 

People's  states .1,145,127  1,200,725  4,373,866 

Totals 3,409,284       3,440,304         7,148,166 

Smith  s plurality  over  Kimbly...  3,738,882 

Smith's  plurality  over  Hild  3,707,862 

Smith's  majority  over  Kimbly  and  Hild 298,578 

Smith's  electoral  vote 222 

Kimbly  and  Hild's  combined  electoral  vote 222 

attacked  Republican  newspaper  offices  Nothing  but 
the  coolness  and  patriotism  of  Judge  Smith  and  other 
party  leaders  saved  the  country  from  revolution  and 
anarchy. 

Nov.  21  Judge  Smith  issued  an  appeal  to  the  mem 
bers  of  the  People's  party  and  to  the  voters  of  the 
country,  urging  them  to  maintain  order  and  respect  the 
laws  of  the  country.  In  this  address  he  said: 

"The  7,000,000  men  who  voted  for  the  People's  elec 
tors  can  afford  to  wait  yet  a  little  time  longer.  While 
the  written  laws  of  this  country  proscribe  majority 
rule  no  clique  or  conspiracy,  no  bribery  or  corruption 
can  stand  against  the  people  and  their  overwhelming 
verdict  as  recorded  at  the  polls  the  ninth  day  of  No 
vember.  Privilege  dies  hard,  but  it  has  received  its 
deathblow.  Let  us  with  patience  await  the  results. 
Refrain  from  lawless  demonstrations.  This  is  a  re- 
volution  not  of  force,  but  of  intelligence.  I  earnestly 
appeal  to  every  American  citizen  to  maintain  the  peace 
and  with  calmness  await  the  coming  session  of  Congress. 

"JOHN  SMITH." 

This  appeal  effectually  put  an  end  to  riots,  but  excite 
ment  ran  high.  It  was  rumored  that  the  Republicans 
and  Democrats  had  combined  and  by  bribery  had 
secured  one  or  more  electoral  votes  from  the  Populists. 
Congress  convened  in  January.  The  Vice-President,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa 
tives,  broke  the  seals  and  read  the  results.  The  vote 
as  cast  was:  Kimbly,  147;  Hild,  75;  Smith,  222.  Nec 
essary  to  a  choice,  228.  The  Vice-President  announced 
that  there  was  no  choice  and  that  the  election  would 
go  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 


The  mob  sacks  the  Senate  Chamber. 

227 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A   GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   PEOPLE. 

THE  last  session  of  the  House  of  Representatives  does 
not  illumine  with  glory  the. pages  of  American  history. 
The  American  people  have  vainly  attempted  to  forget 
it,  but  the  record  is  there,  sad  and  shameful.  The 
author  prefers  not  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  con 
spiracy  by  which  a  popular  verdict  was  twice  set  aside 
tinder  the  form  of  law.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
through  bribery,  open  and  flagrant,  enough  votes  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  were  secured  by  the  Re 
publicans  and  Kimbly  was  declared  elected  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.  That  honest  and  honora 
ble  gentleman  was  not  a  party  to  the  conspiracy,  and 
in  a  dignified  address  to  Congress  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States  firmly  declined  to  'serve  either  as  Presi 
dent  or  Vice- President.  The  details  of  the  plot  were 
made  public  in  later  years.  The  leaders  of  the  con 
spiracy  had  been  advised  by  both  Kimbly  and  Reeve 
that  they  would  not  accept  an  election  secured  by 
fraud,  but  they  refused  to  believe  it  and  went  ahead 
with  their  damnable  work. 

Washington  was  in  the  hands  of  a  mob.  When  the 
result  was  announced  to  the  thousands  on  the  outside 
of  the  capitol  building  nothing  could  restrain  their 
fury.  They  broke  through  the  lines  of  police  and 
soldiers  and  poured  through  the  marble  hallways  of  the 
great  structure.  Doorkeepers  and  sergeants-at-arms 
were  swept  aside  like  chaff  and  50,000  enraged  men  ad 
journed  Congress.  Three  of  the  Populist  representa 
tives  who  betrayed  their  party  were  shot  down  in  the 
great  chamber.  A  score  of  representatives  were  badly 
injured,  some  of  them  being  hurled  from  the  windows 

229 


280  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

of  the/japitol  by  the  mob.  The  President  ordered  out 
the  troops,  and  after  a  determined  fight  the  mob  was 
repulsed  and  dispersed.  He  also  issued  a  proclamation 
warning  the  people  against  riotous  demonstrations  and 
counseling  moderation.  To  this  no  attention  was  paid. 

Anarchy  prevailed.  Business  was  completely  sus 
pended  and,  in  fact,  had  been  since  the  day  of  election, 
The  victory  of  the  people's  Party  had  precipitated  a 
business  panic,  and  stocks  of  all  kinds  sank  to  the  low 
est  points  ever  recorded.  Factories  were  closed  down, 
their  owners  declaring  that  it  would  be  suicidal  to  con 
tinue  work  under  the  existing  "unsettled  state  of 
affairs."  Judge  Smith '^  appeal  for  law  had  quieted 
the  people  for  a  time,  but  the  news  from  Washington 
broke  down  all  restraint. 

The  country  was  on  the  verge  of  a  revolution.  In 
Chicago  the  great  business  houses  were  closed  and  heav 
ily  guarded.  From  every  great  city  in  the  country 
there  came  appeals  for  state  militia  and  government 
troops.  Bread  riots, were  of  daily  occurrence. 

In  Kansas  the  state  militia  refused  to  protect  prop 
erty,  and  the  President  sent  three  companies  of  regular 
troops  into  the  state.  In  the  fight  which  ensued  sev 
eral  citizens  were  killed.  The  state  militia  came  to  the 
aid  of  the  mob  and  in  the  fight  the  regulars  were  re 
pulsed  with  some  loss  and  compelled  to  retreat.  The 
general  government  was  powerless  and  the  country  was 
rapidly  drifting  into  a  state  of  absolute  anarchy.  This 
was  in  the  early  days  of  December. 

In  the  prevailing  excitement  little  attention  was 
paid  to  some  very  startling  rumors  from  Alaska.  In 
October  it  was  reported  that  important  gold  discoveries 
had  been  made  in  that  country.  Wild  stories  of  fabu 
lous  gold  deposits  were  in  circulation  and  there  was  a 
stampede  from  California  and  the  coast  states  for  that 
northern  territory. 

December  7,  1900,  the  steamer  W.  R.  Baker  landed 
in  San  Francisco  having  on  board  $48,000,000  in  gold. 
In  spite  of  all  precaution  the  story  leaked  out,  the 
secret  being  disclosed  by  a  sailor.  The  facts  were  not 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE         231 

made  public  until  the  minors  had  secured  several  mil 
lion  dollars'  worth  of  railroad  and  other  property  in 
consideration  of  the  yellow  metal.  The  Alaska  gold 
mines  were  practically  inexhaustible.  With  crude 
methods  of  mining  twenty  men  hud  secured  over  $40,- 
000,000  worth  of  gold  ore  in  less  than  three  weeks. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  this  came  equally  start 
ling  news  from  the  Witwatersrand  gold  fields  of  South 
Africa,  where  gold  deposits  estimated  at  the  current 
value  of  $75,000,000,000,000  had  been  discovered- 
enough  for  a  per  capita  of  $50,000  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  world.  Gold  was  demonetized.  It  was 
of  no  more  value  than  iron.  Gold-bearing  securities 
w,ere  worthless.  The  national  debt  of  the  United 
States  was  wiped  out  in  a  day.  Europe  was  in 
a  panic.  Men  worth  millions  woke  up  to  find  them 
selves  penniless.  But  nothing  had  been  destroyed.  No 
real  property  had  been  wiped  out  of  existence.  Houses 
and  railroads  and  all  forms  of  improvements  yet  re 
mained.  Nothing  was  lost  but  an  artificial  standard 
of  measurement.  Silver  went  to  an  enormous  premium. 
But  this  financial  revolution  did  not  affect  the  hungry 
millions  of  American  people.  They  could  not  eat- sil 
ver  or  gold. 

Such  was  the  chaotic  condition  of  affairs  Jan.  15, 
1901,  when  a  number  of  men  met  in  Judge  Smith's 
office  in  Chicago  and  issued  a  call  for  a  national  con 
ference  of  the  people  at  Omaha,  to  convene  Feb.  2.  The 
call  briefly  set  forth  the  condition  of  affairs,  the  peril 
of  the  country  and  imperative  need  of  action.  The 
people  were  requested  to  select  one  delegate  from  each 
congressional  district  and  invest  him  with  power  to 
act,  These  elections  were  held  Feb.  21,- and  two  weeks 
later  the  350  delegates  met  in  session  at  Omaha.  There 
was  none  of  the  enthusiasm  of  a  political  convention. 
Every  man  seemed  to  feel  the  responsibility  resting  upon 
him.  Judge  Smith  and  other  national  leaders  were 
heartily  applauded  as  the.y  entered  the  convention  hail. 
R.  C.  Brewster,  a  St.  Louis  business  man,  occupied  the 
chair  and  called  the  convention  to  order.  A  temporary 


232  g          PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

organization  was  perfected,  credentials  examined  and 
approved,  and  the  temporary  organization  made  perma 
nent.  Judge  Smith  was  called  for  and  amid  great 
applause  thus  addressed  the  convention: 

"MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  DELEGATES  OF  THE  PEOPLE:  The 
time  for  oratory  is  past.  This  is  a  day  for  action.  We 
are  called  together  to-day  to  take  the  initial  steps  in 
the  correction  of  abuses  which  have  been  patiently 
borne  by  the  people  for  over  a  century.  If  any  man 
has  come  to  this  hall  with  a  selfish  nature,  if  any  dele 
gate  is  inspired  by  a  thought  other  than  that  of  the 
highest  welfare  of  the  whole  people,  his  place  is  not 
within  these  walls.  Let  us  proceed  with  our  work  in 
spired  by  a  patriotism  which  seeks  naught  but  the  com 
mon  weal. 

uThe  government  of  the  United  States,  after  a  cen 
tury  of  existence,  has  failed  in  its  duty  to  the  people. 
It  has  been  found  lacking  and  inoperative  when  con 
fronted  by  a  condition  which  its  founders  could  cot 
foresee  or  provide  against.  It  is  not  necessary  that  we 
shall  go  back  100  years  for  a  precedent  or  an  inspira 
tion  to  urge  us  on.  If  precedents  for  the  action  we  are 
about  to  take  are  needed  we  may  go  back  to  the  illus 
trious  patriot  who  penned  the  declaration  of  independ 
ence  and  repeat  the  glorious  words  of  Jefferson  in  that 
immortal  document,  in  which  it  is  declared  that  the 
people  not  only  have  the  right — nay,  more  than  that — 
that  it  is  their  duty  to  abolish  a  bad  government  and 
institute  a  new  one.  The  spirit  of  Thomas  Jefferson  is 
with  us  to-day. 

uNo  republic  can  exist  in  name  alone.  An  avowed 
monarchy  or  despotism  is  perferableto  a  state  in  which 
the  people  are  deceived  by  a  pretense  of  liberty  and 
freedom  and  cunningly  enslaved  by  their  own  political 
action.  The  republic  of  to-day  is  not  the  one  of  which 
Jefferson  dreamed.  That  republic  must  be  made  pos 
sible,  and  we  are  assembled  to-day  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  the  corner-stone  of  a  government  which  shall 
be  of  the  people." 

Judge  Smith  urged  the  appointment  of   a  committee 


A   GOVERNMENT  OF   THE    PEOPLE  233 

empowered  to  draft  a  constitution  which  should  be 
submitted  to  the  conference  at  a  subsequent  meeting. 
He  suggested  that  the  delegates  discuss  in  a  general 
way  the  outlines  of  a  new  constitution,  and  that  two 
weeks  be  given  the  committee  in  which  to  submit  their 
reports.  On  motion  the  delegates  from  each  state  were 
empowered  to  select  one  member  of  the  constitutional 
committee.  The  committee  retired  and  organized  by 
electing  Judge  Smith  chairman.  The  conference  then 
devoted  three  days  to  a  general  discussion,  a  full  record 
of  which  was  preserved  by  the  committee.  The  con 
ference  adjourned  until  Feb.  20,  at  which  time  the  con 
stitutional  committee  was  instructed  to  submit  its 
report.  Before  adjournment  the  following  proclama 
tion  was  issued  to  the  country,  signed  by  every  mem 
ber  of  the  conference: 

PROCLAMATION. 

"To  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  GREETING: 
We,  the  delegates  of  the  people,  by  virtue  of  authority 
vested  in  us  by  the  majority  vote  of  our  constituents,  do 
respectfully  address  the  sovereign  citizens  of  the  United 
States. 

"We  solemnly  reaffirm  our  allegiance  to  the  truth 
contained  in  the  inspired  words  of  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  incorporated  in  the  glorious  declaration  of  inde 
pendence,  and  with  him  declare  that  'all  men  are  cre 
ated  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  with  certain  in 
alienable  rights;  that  among  these  are  life, liberty  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  secure  these  rights 
governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed;  that 
when  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive  of 
these  ends  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  and 
abolish  it  and  to  institute  a  new  government, laying  its 
foundations  on  such  principles  and  organizing  its  pow 
ers  in  such  form  as  shall  seem  to  them  most  likely  to 
effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence, indeed,  will 
dictate  that  governments  long  established  should  not 
be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes,  and,  accord- 


284  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

ingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  dis 
posed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,than  to  right 
themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  were 
accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usui- 
pations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces 
a  desire  to  reduce  them  to  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their 
right,  it  is  their  duty  to  throw  off  such  government 
and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  safety.  Such 
has  been  the  patient  suffering  of  these  colonies  and 
such  is  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter 
their  former  systems  of  government.' 

"Such  .has  been  the  patient  suffering  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity 
which  impels  them  to  revise  the  existing  system  of 
government. 

"We  declare  it  to  be  a  self-evident  fact  that  the  ma 
jority  of  people  of  any  republic  have  rights  which  any 
minority,  however  fortified  by  wealth,  influence  or 
power,  must  be  compelled  to  respect,  and  declare  that 
any  laws  which  defeat  the  plainly  expressed  will  of  the 
majority  must  be  erased  from  the  statute-books. 

"We  declare  it  to  be  the  first  duty  of  any  govern 
ment  to  so  shape  its  laws  and  regulate  its  affairs  that 
the  humblest  citizen  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  ob 
tain  employment  at  such  a  compensation  as  will  enable 
him  to  live  comfortably  and  maintain  a  famil}?1.  Any 
country  or  community  in  which  this  right  is  denied  is 
without  government,  and  the  senseless  forms  which  exist 
tinder  the  guiso  of  constitutions  and  laws  should  be 
swept  away  by  an  outraged  people. 

"It  is  not  necessary  to  lodge  formal  and  specific  in 
dictment  against  the  existing  government  or  to  fix  the 
responsibility  for  the  crimes  which  have  been  committed 
under  the  name  of  law  and  so  long  tolerated  by  a 
deluded  people,  who  have  been  taught  that  it  is  more 
patriotic  to  submit  to  a  wrong  than  to  arise  and  resist  it. 
In  the  name  of  the  people  national  honor  has  been 
sacrificed.  Under  the  protection  of  the  law  public 
lands  have  been  wrested  from  the  people  and  bestowed 
on  corporations;  snobbery  has  been  extolled  and  hon- 


A  GOVERNMENT  OP  THE  PEOPLE         235 

est  labor  insulted.  Justice  has  been  made  to  pour  with 
one  hand  wealth  into  the  laps  of  avaricious  affluence, 
while  with  the  other  she  has  taken  bread  from  the  hand 
of  starving  families.  Under  the  malign  influence  of 
such  conditions  brutish  instincts  have  been  so  devel 
oped  that  it  has  become  only  a  question  of  a  few  years, 
when,  unless  a  reform  be  instituted,  civilization  shall 
relapse  into  that  barbarism  from  which  it  came. 

"A  corrupt  government  has  fallen  without  a  blow 
being  struck  against  it.  Over  its  ruins  the  people 
must  erect  a  new  government,  avoiding  the  mistakes 
of  the  past  and  profiting  by  the  experience  of  a  century 
of  national  life.  In  a  few  days  there  will  be  submitted 
to  the  people  for  their  approval  or  rejection  a  constitu 
tion  which  shall  embody  a  true  republican  form  of 
government.  The  men  who  draft  that  constitution 
have  in  contemplation  a  republic  in  which  the  people 
shall  make  and  unmake  laws,  in  which  the  people  shall 
elect  and  depose  officials;  in  which  the  will  of  the 
people  is  supreme.  They  have  in  contemplation  a  re 
public  which  shall  enable  its  people  to  secure  the  great 
est  possible  share  of  those  blessings  which  multiply 
with  an  advancing  civilization.  We  have  an  abiding 
faith  in  the  wisdom,  justice  and'sound  government  of 
any  people  in  whose  hands  is  lodged  the  untrammeled 
exercise  of  a  ballot. 

"Mindful  of  the  rights  of  the  minority,  the  framers 
of  the  constitution  will  care  that  their  opinions  be  re 
spected,  their  rights,  property  and  legitimate  privi 
leges  preserved  inviolate.  They  aim  to  encourage  the 
desire  for  the  accumulation  of  property  and  believe 
with  the  philosopher  that  'property  communicates  a 
charm  to  whatever  is  the  object  of  it.  It  is  the  first  of 
our  abstract  ideas,  it  cleaves  to  us  closest  and  longest. 
It  endears  to  the  child  its  plaything,  to  the  peasant  his 
cottage,  to  the  landlord  his  estate. ' 

"Governments  long  established  should  not  be  changed 
for  light  and  transient  causes,  and  not  without  the 
consent  of  an  actual  majority  of  the  people  to  be  governed. 
It  has,  therefore,  been  decided  by  the  delegates  of  the 


236  PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH. 

people,  and  is  hereby  affirmed,  that  no  clause  of  the  con 
stitution  about  to  be  submitted  shall  be  adopted  or  in  force 
until  it  shall  be  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  registered 
and  qualified  voters  of  the  United  States.  We  appeal  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  go  to  the  polls  on  the 
day  fixed  for  the  constitutional  referendum,  and  with  a 
full  realization  of  the  responsibilities  resting  upon  them, 
vote  as  their  conscience  and  their  duty  dictates. 

"Respectfully  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  this  sixth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  nineteen  hundred  and  one. 

"JOHN  SMITH." 
"And  340  Members  of  the  Conference." 

Congress  was  in  session,  but  the  people  paid  little 
or  no  attention  to  its  proceedings.  The  Populists  had 
a  small  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  but 
were  powerless  to  do  anything.  In  fact,  there  was  noth 
ing  to  do.  The  government  was  dead.  There  was  no 
system  of  finance.  Silver  had  been  demonetized  sev 
eral  years  before.  Alaska  and  Witvvatersrand  had  de 
monetized  gold.  One-third  of  the  members  of  Con 
gress  went  home  after  the  second  week  of  the  session. 
In  the  later  part  of  February  the  plot  by  which  Judge 
Smith  was  defrauded  "of  an  election  was  exposed  by  the 
confessions  of  two  New  York  politicians.  Governor 
Kimbly  issued  an  address  to  the  American  people  ask 
ing  them  to  support  Judge  Smith  and  pledging  his  own 
hearty  co-operation 

It  was  a  peaceful  revolution.  The  mayor  of  Chicago 
called  a  conference  of  citizens  in  extraordinary  session. 
A  relief  committee  was  formed  and  clothed  with  prac 
tically  unlimited  powers.  They  were  backed  by  the 
credit  of  the  city  and  authorized  to  purchase,  or  seize 
if  necessary,  provisions  and  other  absolute  necessities 
of  life.  The  latter  expedient  was  not  required.  The 
great  packing-houses,  the  wholesale  grocery-houses, 
flouring-mills,and  other  food-handling  concerns  placed 
their  resources  at  the  hands  of  the  relief  committee 
and  accepted  scrip  currency  in  payment.  Other  cities 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE         287 

followed  the  example.  The  country  was  practically 
under  localized  provisional  government  without  a  cen 
tral  head  at  Washington.  Production,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  farm  products,  had  almost  ceased.  The  excite 
ment  died  away  and  the  people  patiently  awaited  the 
report  of  the  committee  on  constitution 

The  conference  reassembled  at  Omaha  Feb.  20,  and 
after  a  three  days'  session  ratified  the  following  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  of  America  and  arranged 
for  its  submission  to  the  voters  March  2,  1901. 

CONSTITUTION    OF     THE     UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA. 

"We,  the  United  people  of  America,  in  order  to  pre 
serve  to  ourselves  and  to  posterity  the  blessings  of  civili 
sation, to  maintain  the  republic,  to  establish  justice,in- 
isure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  de 
fense,  secure  and  guard  the  rights  of  the  majority,  and 
to  guarantee  to  every  citizen  a  fair  opportunity  for  a 
livelihood,  do  hereby  ordain  and  subscribe  to  this  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE    I. 

"Section  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in 
A  president  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall 
hold  his  office  during  a  term  of  four  years  unless  re 
called  during  that  time  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  peo 
ple.  He  shall  be  elected  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people, 
and  must  receive  a  majority  of  all  votes  cast  If  at  any 
election  no  presidential  candidate  shall  receive  a  ma 
jority  of  all  votes  cast  a  second  election  shall  be  held 
and  a  choice  made  between  the  two  candidates  receiv 
ing  the  highest  number  of  votes  in  the  preceding  elec 
tion. 

"Sec.  2.  No  one  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  pres 
ident  unless  he  shall  have  been  born  in  the  United 
States  and  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  40  years. 

"Sec.  3.  A  presidential  election  shall  be  held  once 
in  four  years  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November.  The 
vote  shall  be  canvassed  by  a  returning  board  in  each 


238  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

state  and  the  certified  result  forwarded  to  the  secretary 
of  state  and  presented  by  him  to  the  house  of  represen 
tatives,  which  shall  convene  on  the  third  Tuesday  of 
November — two  weeks  after  the  day  of  election.  If  no 
candidate  has  a  majority  a  second  election  shall  be 
held  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of  November  and  the 
result  announced  by  the  secretary  of  state  in  the  house 
of  representatives  on  the  second  Tuesday  after  the 
fourth  Tuesday  of  November.  The  president  shall 
take  possession  cf  his  office  January  1,  unless  that  date 
shall  fall  on  Sunday,  in  which  event  the  president 
shall  take  possession  the  Monday  following. 

uSec.  4.  In  case  of  the  death,  resignation, disability 
or  removal  for  any  cause  of  the  president, the  secretary 
of  state  shall  act  in  his  place  until  such  time  as  a  spe 
cial  election  may  be  called  according  to  law  as  may  be 
hereafter  provided.  In  the  event  that  the  death,  resig 
nation,  disability,  or  removal  for  any  cause  of  the  sec 
retary  of  state  prevents  him  from  acting  as  president, 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury  shall  be  called  to  the  pres 
idential  chair.  The  line  of  precedence  shall  be:  Pres 
ident,  secretary  of  state,  secretary  of  treasury,  secre 
tary  of  war  and  navy,  attorney-general,  secretary  of 
the  interior,  and  superintendent  of  education. 

"Sec.  5  The  president  shall  be  commander  in  chief 
of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
militia  of  the  several  states  when  called  into  the  actu 
al  service  of  the  United  States.  He  shall  have'  power 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his  cabinet  to 
make  treaties  provided  two-thirds  of  the  cabinet  con 
sent,  and  he  shall  nominate  and  by  and  with  the  con 
sent  of  the  cabinet  shall  appoint  ambassadors,  other 
public  ministers,  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  such  other  officers  of  the  United  States  as 
he  may  be  authorized  by  law  to  appoint.  From  time 
to  time  he  shall  give  the  people  information  of  the 
state  of  the  country,  may  recommend  to  their  consid 
eration  such  measures  as  ho  shall  judge  necessary  and 
expedient,  and  he  may  on  extraordinary  occasions 
convene  the  house  of  representatives. 


A   GOVERNMENT  OF   THE    PEOPLE.  239 


ARTICLE  II. 

"Section  1.  At  the  presidential  election  the  people 
shall  also  select  by  popular  vote  a  secretary  of  state, 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  secretary  of  the  army  and 
navy,  secretary  of  the  interior,  attorney-general,  secre 
tary  of  census  and  statistics,  superintendent  of  educa 
tion,  secretary  of  foreign  commerce,  and  chiefs  of  de 
partments  of  agriculture,  transportation,  mechanics, 
and  mining,  the  last  four  constituting  a  bureau  of  in 
dustry  of  which  the  president  shall  be  chief.  These 
twelve  officers  shall  form  a  presidential  cabinet  for  the 
advice  and  guidance  of  the  president  in  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  affairs  of  the  country. 

"Sec.  2,  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  a  cabinet  po 
sition  except  he  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  for  twenty-one  years  and  shall  have  attained  the 
age  of  30  years. 

"Sec.  3,  Cabinet  officers  shall  be  elected  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  president  and  may  at  any  time  be  re 
called  by  a  majority  of  the  people. 

"Sec.  4.  The  duties  of  the  secretary  of  state,  secre 
tary  of  the  treasury,  secretary  of  the  army  and  navy, 
secretary  of  the  interior,  and  attorney-general  shall  be 
the  same  as  those  which  have  devolved  on  these  offi 
cials  in  the  past,  subject  to  such  new  regulations  as  the 
president  and  his  cabinet  may  from  time  to  time  direct. 

"Sec,  5.  The  secretary  of  the  census  and  statistics 
shall  collect  and  make  public  such  statistical  informa 
tion  as  may  be  demanded  by  the  president  ov  required 
by  the  bureau  of  industry. 

"Sec.  6.  The  superintendent  of  education  shall 
have  charge  of  the  public  school  and  university  sys 
tems. 

"Sec,  7.  The  chiefs  of  the  departments  of  agricul 
ture,  transportation,  mechanics,  and  minings  shall  sys 
tematize  and  supervise  the  work  of  their  various  depart 
ments.  They  shall  appoint  by  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  president  and  his  cabinet  such  subordinate  offi« 
cers  as  the  people  shall  provide  by  law. 


240  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

"Sec.  8.  The  secretary  of  foreign  commerce  shall 
be  the  custodian  of  such  surplus  manufactured  and 
other  products  as  may  be  placed  at  his  disposal  by  the 
bureau  of  industry.  He  shall  be  authorized  to  sell 
such  products  to  foreign  purchasers  and  make  such  ex 
changes  as  the  president  and  his  cabinet  may  direct. 

"Sec  9.  The  president,  cabinet  officers,  and  their 
subordinates  shall  receive  such  compensation  as  the 
house  of  representatives  may  direct, subject  to  the  ap 
proval  of  a  majority  vote  of  the  people. 

ARTICLE    III. 

"Section  1.  All  legislative  power  shall  be  vested  in 
a  majority  vote  of  the  people,  subject  to  such  excep 
tions  and  regulations  as  the  people  may  formally  direct. 

"Sec.  2.  Each  federal  state  shall  be  divided  into 
congressional  districts  on  a  unit  of  representation  ob 
tained  by  dividing  the  whole  number  of  inhabitants  of 
the  United  States  by  200.  Upon  the  adoption  of  this 
constitution  the  secretary  of  census  and  statistics  shall 
make  an  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants,  and  congress 
shall  divide  the  several  states  into  districts.  There 
shall  be  no  fractional  representation,  each  state  being 
allotted  such  a  number  of  districts  as  will  be  obtained 
by  dividing  the  whole  number,'of  its  inhabitants  by  the 
unit  of  representation,  the  remainder  being  appor 
tioned  among  the  districts  thereby  obtained.  Any 
state  not  entitled  to  a  district  under  this  law  shall  be 
merged  into  such  adjoining  state  as  a  plurality  of  its 
voters  may  select. 

"Sec.  3.  A  census  shall  be  taken  and  congress  shall 
make  a  re-apportionment  of  districts  once  in  four 
years,  said  apportionment  being  made  and  put  into 
effect  within  sixty  days  preceding  the  presidential  elec 
tion. 

"Sec.  4.  Each  of  the  districts  thus  obtained  shall 
be  represented  by  a  congressman,  the  200  composing 
the  house  of  representatives.  A  congressional  election 
shall  be  held  once  a  year  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
November,  and  congress  shall  convene  at  the  national 
capitol  on  the  first  day  of  January  immediately  follow- 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE         241 

ing  its  election.     On  extraordinary  occasions  the  presi 
dent  may  convene  congress  in  special  session. 

"Sec.  5.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  an  election 
as  congressman  except  he  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  for  fourteen  years,  and  shall  have 
attained  the  age  of  30  years. 

"Sec  6.  On  the  vote  of  fifty  members  of  congress 
any  question  pending  before  them  shall  be  submitted 
to  the  people  for  a  final  decision.  Congress  shall  have 
power  to  make  its  own  rules  and  define  its  powers, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  people.  It  shall  not  be 
empowered  to  finally  pass  upon  any  act  of  legislation 
in  which  the  whole  people  are  directly  interested.  In 
all  questions  of  national  importance,  such  as  the  levy 
ing  of  taxes  and  the  enactment  of  important  legisla 
tion,  they  shall  draft  and  prepare  such  bills  as  shall 
seem  to  them  fitted  for  the  government  of  the  republic 
and  submit  them  to  the  vote  of  the  people  for  approval 
or  rejection,  at  such  times  and  in  such  manner  as  may 
hereafter  be  provided  by  law.  Any  law  thus  passed  by 
the  people  shall  be  in  force  and  effect  from  the  time  of 
its  passage,  and  there  shall  be  no  appeal  from  it.  Con 
gress  shall  be  guided  in  its  deliberations  by  the  opin 
ions  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  attorney-general,  to 
whom  all  important  measures  shall  be  submitted  for 
an  opinion.  Congress  shall  not  be  bound  by  this  opin 
ion, and  may  submit  the  law  as  drafted  and  the  opinion 
to  the  people  for  approval  or  rejection. 

"Sec.  7.  No  person  shall  represent  a  district  utoless 
he  shall  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  state  in  which  that 
district  is  situated. 

"Sec.  8.  Congressional  representatives  shall  receive 
a  salary  for  their  services  to  be  fixed  by  law  and  paid 
out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

"Section  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  vested  in  a  Supreme  Court  and  such  inferior 
courts  as  the  people  may  from  time  to  tirae  establish. 

"Sec.  2.     The  Supreme  Court  shall  consist  of  a  su- 


242  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

preme  judge  and  four  associate  judges,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  president  and  indorsed  by  Congress. 

"Sec.  3.  The  Supreme  Court  "shall  be  the  final  court 
of  appeal,  and  shall  be  clothed  with  power  to  decide 
all  cases  affecting  ambassadors, other  public  ministers, 
and  consuls;  to  controversies  in  which  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  party;  to  controversies  between  two 
or  more  states,  between  a  state  and  a  citizen  of  an 
other  state,  between  citizens  of  several  states,  and  be 
tween  a  state  and  citizens  thereof.  The  Supreme  Court 
may  pass  upon  the  constitutionality  of  laws  passed  by 
federal  states,  counties,  townships,  or  cities,  but  it 
shall  have  no  jurisdiction  over  laws  passed  by  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States.  It  shall,  when  asked,  exam 
ine  any  law  under  consideration  by  congress,  and  shall 
at  such  times  furnish  congress  an  opinion  containing 
such  advice  and  suggesting  such  alterations  or  amend 
ments  as  will  in  their  judgment  more  strictly  conform 
to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution. 

"Sec.  4.  Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  presi 
dent  and  a  majority  of  his  cabinet,  or  upon  the  recom 
mendation  of  a  majority  of  the  house  of  representa 
tives,  the  question  of  the  retirement  of  any  United 
States  judge  or  judges  may  be  submitted  to  the  people, 
and  upon  a  majority  vote  of  the  people  such  judge  or 
judges  shall  be  retired  and  a  successor  appointed  or  in 
dorsed. 

"Sec.  5.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  of 
all  inferior  courts  shall  receive  a  compensation  to  be 
determined  by  law  and  to  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury 
of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE    V. 

"Section  1.  The  United  States  shall  issue  a  currency 
and  bonds  of  such  denomination,  volume,  and  upon 
such  a  basis  as  is  specified  in  this  constitution  or  as 
the  people  may  hereafter  enact  by  law. 

"Sec.  2.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  shall  be  em 
powered  to  issue  a  currency  of  a  volume  authorized  by 
the  president  and  his  cabinet,  based  ou  the  credit  of 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE          243 

the  United  States  and  redeemable  in  such  products, 
labor,  property,  services,  assets,  or  valuable  compensa 
tion  as  shall  be  in  the  possession  or  at  the  disposal  of 
the  United  States  government.  The  treasurer  of  the 
United  States"  is  authorized  to  issue  bonds,  which  shall 
bear  no  interest,  payable  in  currency  .of  such  a  vol 
ume  and  for  such  purposes  as  the  cabinet,  con 
gress,  or  the  people,  may  direct.  The  treasurer  of 
the  United  States  is  authorized  to  issue  currency  or 
bonds  to  federal  states,  counties,  townships,  cities,  pri 
vate  corporations,  or  individuals,  accepting  as  security 
such  tangible  assets  as  state,  county,  township,  or  city 
property,  or  upon  unencumbered  and  valuable  proper 
ty,  lands,  or  convertible  and  negotiable  products  of  la 
bor,  provided  that  in  no  case  shall  bonds  or  currency 
be  issued  in  excess  of  half  the  value  of  the  securities 
pledged  to  the  redemption  of  this  currency. 

"Sec.  3.  These  bonds  and  the  currency  of  the 
United  States  shall  have  as  a  unit  a  dollar,  the  said 
dollar  standing  as  the  representative  of  the  average 
productivity  of  one  hour's  work,  the  said  unit  to  be  an 
approximation  of  the  average  benefit  the  community 
receives  from  one  hour  devoted  to  mental,  manual, 
physical,  and  supervisory  employments  and  positions. 

"Sec.  4.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  shall  be  em 
powered  to  issue  such  an  amount  of  bonds  and  curren 
cy  as  may  be  necessary  to  defray  the  debts  and  ex 
penses  incurred  by  the  government.  The  government 
may  at  its  discretion  -refuse  to  sell,  exchange,  or  dis 
pose  of  any  property  or  privileges  except  on  payment 
therefor  of  such  an  amount  of  its  own  currency  or 
bonds  as  may  be  mutually  agreed  upon. 

"Sec.  5.  Bonds  and  currency  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  printed  or  stamped  in  such  a  manner  and  upon 
such  material  as  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  may  di 
rect,  provided  that  no  article  or  substance  which  is  of 
rare  value  or  utility  in  mechanics  or  the  arts  be  thus 
employed. 

"Sec.  6.  Counterfeiting  the  bonds  or  currency  of 
the  United  States  shall  be  a  crime  punishable  by  death, 


244  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

and  any  person  or  persons  convicted  of  knowingly 
handling  or  passing  such  counterfeits  may  be  adjudged 
guilty  of  treason  and  punished  accordingly. 

"Sec.  7.  No  federal,  state,  county,  township,  mu 
nicipality,  individual,  or  combination  of  individuals 
shall  be  permitted  or  authorized  to  issue  a  currency  or 
a  medium  of  exchange  which  shall  conflict  with  that 
issued  by  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

"Section  1.  The  United  States  shall  possess  and  is 
authorized  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain, 
but  this  right  shall  be  employed  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  work  no  injustice  to  any  citizen  of  the  United  States 
or  to  the  citizen  of  any  other  country. 

"Sec.  2.  The  United  States  is  authorized  to  pre 
empt  and  occupy  all  unoccupied  and  all  unused  lands, 
taking  possession  of  such  lanfl  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  and  holding  them  in  trust 
for  the  citizens  of  the  present  and  the  future  genera 
tions.  The  government  shall  proceed  to  acquire  such 
land  in  a  manner  prescribed  by  congress. 

"Sec.  3.  The  United  States  may  purchase  and  acquire 
under  the  right  of  eminent  domain  such  railroads, 
canals,  telegraph  and  telephone  lines,  and  such  other 
inter-state  and  national  mediums  of  transportation, 
communication  and  exchange  as  the  people  may  by  a 
majority  vote  direct. 

"Sec.  4.  The  United  States  may  upon  the  recom 
mendation  of  the  bureau  of  industry  acquire  by  pur- 
cba^se  under  the  right  of  eminent  domain  such  lands, 
mines,  forests  and  other  property  as  may  be  deemed 
necessary  to  general  production  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  nation. 

ARTICLE   VII. 

"Section  1.  The  United  States,  through  its  presi 
dent,  cabinet  and  congress,  with  the  indorsement  of 
a  majority  vote  of  the  people,  is  authorized  to  under 
take  and  supervise  any  of  the  forms  of  industry  and 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE         245 

production  which  may  be  deemed  necessary  to  the 
.welfare  of  the  people,  retaining  such  a  share  of  the 
products  thus  created  as  shall  be  sufficient  to  retire  the 
bonds  and  indebtedness  incurred  by  the  government. 
When  such  indebtedness  shall  have  been  retired 
the  government  shall  withold  none  of  the  profits  of 
production  from  those  engaged  in  it. 

"Sec.  8.  The  United  States  may  levy  taxes  for  the 
general  expenses  of  the  government,  but  no  tax  shall 
ever  be  levied  against  the  products  of  labor. 

ARTICLE   VIII. 

"Any  section  or  article  in  this  constitution  may  be 
repealed,  revised  or  amended  by  a  majority  vote  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  Any  proposed  amend 
ment  shall  be  submitted  to  the  people  sixty  days  in  ad 
vance  of  the  date  of  the  referendum  for  its  consideration. 

PROVISIONAL. 

"This  constitution  shall  be  submitted  to  the  people 
March  10,  1901.  It  shall  be  voted  on  by  sections,  and  no 
section  shall  be  adopted  unless  it  shall  have  received 
an  actual  majority  of  the  qualified  voters.  The  adop 
tion  of  this  constitution,  or  any  substitutes,  altera 
tions  or  amendments,  shall  repeal  all  other  consti 
tutions,  statutes,  or  laws  conflicting  with  it. 

"The  first  presidential  election  shall  be  held  March 
24,  1901,  at  which  time  the  people  shall  elect  a  presi 
dent,  twelve  members  of  a  cabinet,  and  a  provisional 
congress  consisting  of  one  representative  from  the  con 
gressional  districts  as  now  constituted.  The  president 
shall  take  possession  of  his  office  and  congress  shall 
meet  in  Washington  April  4,  1901,  the  first  presiden 
tial  term  expiring  January  1,  1905.  A  presidential 
election  shall  occur  the  first  Tuesday  of  November, 
1904,  in  the  manner  as  set  forth  in  this  constitution. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  attorney-general,  acting 
with  the  Supreme  Court,  to  proceed  immediately  with 
the  formation  of  a  code  of  laws  in  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution  as  finally  adopted.  The  pres 
ident  and  his  cabinet  are  empowered  to  form  such  a 


246  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

provisional  government,  appoint  such  officers,  and  ex 
ecute  such  a  policy  as  the  immediate  needs  of  the  coun 
try  may  dictate.  The  provisional  congress  shall  remain 
in  session  until  such  time  as  it  may  decide  to  suspend 
the  provisional  government,  at  which  time  the  consti 
tution  shall  go  into, full  force  and  effect." 

Before  adjourning  the  conference  issued  a  call  for  a 
presidential  nominating  convention  March  7,  and  a 
general  election  March  24.  There  was  some  debate  on 
this  question,  several  delegates  claiming  that  the  call 
should  not  be  issued  until  after  the  constitution  had 
been  passed  on  by  the  people,  but  the  majority  urged 
that  valuable  time  would  be  wasted,  and  that  in  the 
event  of  a  rejection  of  the  constitution  the  call  for  the 
nominating  convention  could  be  annulled,  The  call 
for  the  convention  provided  for  two  delegates  from 
each  congressional  district.  The  primaries  were  held 
March  1,  and  March  7  the  convention  met  at  the  Audi 
torium  in  Chicago  and  was  held  amid  scenes  of  enthu 
siasm  and  joy.  John  Smith  was  nominated  for  Presi 
dent  and  a  full  ticket  placed  in  the  field. 

With  few  exceptions  the  constitutional  election  of 
March  10  was  held  under  the  regular  forms  of  law  as  a 
special  election.  In  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago,  and 
in  all  the  large  cities  the  representatives  of  the  Omaha 
conference  went  before  the  election  commissioners  and 
secured  the  calling  of  a  special  election.  In  small  towns 
and  villages  the  regular  polling  places  were  used  by 
common  consent.  The  People's  party  always  insisted 
on  having  one  judge  of  election,  though  the  result 
proved  this  to  be  an  unnecessary  precaution.  In  most 
states  the  election  was  held  under  the  Australian  ballot 
system. 

The  agitation  against  the  adoption  of  the  constitu 
tion  was  confined  mainly  to  the  old-time  bourbon  Dem 
ocrats  of  the  south  and  their  few  northern  sympathizers, 
who  protested  that  it  subjugated  the  federal  states  to 
the  general  government.  These  honest,  but  antique, 
statesmen  found  themselves  allied  with  the  anarchists 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE         247 

of  New  York  and  Chicago,  who  issued  proclamations 
and  addresses  without  number  denouncing  the  proposed 
constitution  as  a  "paternalistic  outrage,"  a  "contem 
plated  governmental  monopoly,"  a  "villainous conspir 
acy  to  subjugate  the  minority." 

The  only  difference  between  the  bourbons  and  an 
archists  was  in  their  methods  and  in  their  numerical 
strength.  In  1893  there  were  about  a  thousand  anarch 
ists  and  about  50,000  bourbons  in  the  United  States, 
but  they  made  noise  enough  to  make  up  for  their  nu 
merical  weakness.  Ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  people 
of  the  country  believed  in  a  government.  Bourbonism 
and  anarchy  make  no  distinctions  in  government. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  "good  government"  with 
them.  The  anarchist  wanted  no  government,  and  the 
bourbon  fairly  detested  the  word  and  regarded  a  govern 
ment  of  any  kind  as  a  more  or  less  necessary  evil.  For 
the  numberless  wrongs  resultant  from  existing  condi 
tions  the  anarchists  had  a  theory  and  a  remedy  which 
few  people  could  understand  and  which  no  two  anarch 
ists  ever  explained  in  the  same  way.  The  bourbons  had 
no  remedy,  and  when  prodded  hard  mumbled  some 
thing  about  Thomas  Jefferson  or  old  Andy  Jackson  or 
the  Darwinian  theory  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 

This  interesting  faction  of  the  American  people  made 
a  fight  against  the  new  constitution.  There  were  a  few 
who  protested  against  what  they  termed  "fiat  money," 
and  wanted  to  return  to  a  silver  basis.  England, 
France  and  Germany  had  adopted  a  silver  basis,  gold 
having  been  demonetized,  and  some  financiers  urged 
that  unless  the  United  States  did  the  same  this  coun 
try  would  never  be  able  to  make  a  living.  They,  there 
fore,  talked  against  and  probably  voted  against  the 
currency  features  of  the  constitution. 

March  10,  1901,  the  American  people,  by  a  popular 
vote  of  14,490,000  against  1,824,000,  ratified  the  new 
constitution.  March  24,  Judge  John  Smith  was  almost 
unanimously  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  on  the  4th  day  of  April  was  formally  inaugurated 
at  Washington  amid  scenes  of  popular  rejoicing  uupar- 


248  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

alleled  in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  In  his  in 
augural  address  in  the  presence  of  500,000  people  Presi 
dent  Smith  said : 

"No  executive  or  administration  in  history  ever  was 
confronted  with  a  problem  so  complex  and  momen 
tous  as  that  which  demands  solution  at  the  hands  of 
those  the  people  have  to-day  intrusted  with  power.  The 
years  of  our  national  life  which  have  passed  into  history 
have  not  chronicled  the  failure  of  popular  government. 
The  mistakes  of  the  past  cannot  be  charged  against  the 
people.  The  long  train  of  abuses  which  culminated  in 
the  unparalleled  distress  of  our  people  sprang  not  from 
the  popular  branches  of  our  government, but  from  those 
monarchical  traditions  incorporated  in  the  constitution 
by  certain  of  our  forefathers  who  had  not  shaken  off 
the  superstitions  which  bound  them  to  the  throne  of 
England.  They  gave  to  the  country  the  name  of  a 
republic, and  to  its  people  the  constitution  of  oligarchy. 
They  so  framed  that  document  that  while  its  preamble 
and  spirit  proclaimed  popular  rule  and  majority  rights, 
its  context  made  the  people  subject  to  any  clique  or 
cabal  of  men  wealthy,  daring  and  unscrupulous  enough 
to  take  advantage  of  its  provisions.  That  the  country 
has  advanced  in  wealth  and  that^its  people  have  secured 
a  fair  share  of  prosperity  testifies  not  to  the  wisdom  of 
the  constitution,  but  to  the  glory  of  the  citizen  who 
has  risen  superior  to  unjust  laws.  The  true  American 
citizen  looks  not  with  envy  upon  riches  honestly  ob 
tained,  bjiti  he  demands  for  himself  and  his  children 
the  opportunity  to  live  and  to  contribute  his  share  to 
the  commonwealth  of  the  republic.  No  government 
which  permits  this  right  to  be  subverted  can  long  sur 
vive,  Upon  the  ruins  of  a  government  which  fell  bo- 
cause  it  was  not  of  the  people  let  us  erect  a  new  govern 
ment,  'laying  its  foundations  on  such  principles  and 
organizing  its  powers  in  such,  forms  as  shall  seem  to 
the  people  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happi 
ness.  ' 

"This  country  is  not  ruined.    Anarchy  has  prevailed 
for  a  period,  but  no  permanent  loss  has  been  inflicted. 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE  249 

Financial  distress  and  business  depression  have  stopped 
the  smoke  from  factory  chimneys  and  dulled  the  fires 
in  forge  and  mill,  but  the  country  is  solvent.  The 
United  States  of  America  is  the  most  magnificent  piece 
of  property  which  nature  ever  lavished  upon  the  chil 
dren  of  men,  and  the  operations  of  no  systems  of  un 
wise  laws  can  destroy  its  inexhaustible  stores  of  natural 
wealth.  Nature  knows  no  politics.  She  yields  up  her 
treasures  alike  to  Democrat  and  Republican,  Prohibi 
tionist  and  Populist,  anarchist  and  socialist.  She  only 
demands  the  tribute  of  labor  and  brains,  and  the 
financial  cyclone  which  swept  across  the  country  has 
not  seriously  impaired  the  brawn  of  the  workman  or 
the  brain  of  the  great  captain  of  industry.  The  land 
lies  smiling  before  us.  Willing  arms  are  eager  to  work. 
Let  no  man  again  say  that  the  country  is  poor  so  long 
as  land  yields  its  wealth  to  labor. 

"In  the  name  of  the  people  this  administration  as 
sumes  control  of  the  government.  In  the  name  of  the 
people  and  by  virtue  of  the  power  vested  by  the  people 
in  the  President  and  his  cabinet,  I  now  declare  a  provi 
sional  government  to  be,  and  to  continue  in  effect  until 
such  time  as  Congress  shall  install  in  power  the  con 
stitution  passed  by  the  people.  It  shall  be  the  policy 
of  this  administration  to  so  administer  the  immediate 
affairs  of  the  government  as  to  secure  at  the  earliest 
moment  the  greater  good  to  the  greater  number  of  peo 
ple.  Private  interests  and  private  rights  and  property 
will  be  conserved  and  protected,  but  no  individual  or 
combination  of  individuals  shall  in  this  emergency 
stand  between  the  government  and  the  welfare  of  the 
people.  This  administration  will  act  in  the  capacity 
of  a  receiver  for  a  valuable  but  mismanaged  estate  or 
corporation  until  such  time  as  a  majority  of  its  stock 
holders,  represented  by  Congress,  shall  terminate  that 
receivership. 

"I  appeal  to  every  American  citizen  to  do  his  full 
duty  and  loyally  support  the  administration  in  the 
stupendous  task  now  before  it.  Selfishness  must  be  put 
aside  and  patriotism  act  in  its  plaoe.  Not  in  a  day  or 


250  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

a  week  or  in  a  month  can  the  vast  machinery  of  this 
country  be  put  in  perfect  motion.  Years  of  semi-idle 
ness  have  incased  with  rust  the  working  parts  of  our 
national  mechanism,  but  under  the  magic  touch  of 
labor  friction  will  disappear,  and  like  a  great  engine 
abandoned  for  a  time  by  its  makers  will  the  nation 
throb  with  a  higher  and  more  perfect  activity." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  RULE  OF  COMMON  SENSE. 

PRESIDENT  SMITH  and  his  cabinet,  after  a  Jong  and 
earnest  conference,  decided  to  take  immediate  action 
looking  to  the  restoration  of  industry.  Production 
had  been  suspended  almost  entirely  for  six  months, 
and  for  over  two  years  had  been  carefully  restricted 
and  curtailed  to  the  lowest  possible  point.  The  demon 
etization  of  gold  and  the  startling  political  revolution 
had  paralyzed  everything.  Silver  and  silver  certificates 
were  used  as  money,  and  in  Chicago,  New  York  and 
other  large  cities  the  local  governments  had  issued 
scrip  in  payment  of  food  and  other  necessities  pur 
chased  by  the  relief  committees  and  distributed  among 
the  people^  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  author 
ized  to  issue  $1,000,000,000  in  paper  currency  and 
bonds,  the  said  issue  to  be  considered  as  a  temporary 
expedient  and  to  be  retired  and  replaced  by  a  perma 
nent  system  at  the  earliest  possible  date.  This  cur 
rency  and  the  bonds  were  based  on  the  credit  of  the 
government,  and  had  as  a  precedent — if  one  were 
needed — the  issue  by  the  government  of  several  billion 
dollars  in  greenbacks  during  the  war  of  1881-65.  The 
administration  had  already  determined  on  a  perma 
nent  financial  system,  and  Treasurer  Childs  lost  no 
time  in  organizing  and  perfecting  his  department. 

Agriculture,  of  all  the  industries  of  the  country,  was 
saved  from  the  wreck  which  had  overwhelmed  the  na 
tion.  As  a  rule  the  farmers  had  planted  their  usual 
crops.  Chief  of  Agriculture  Moulton,  the  day  after  his 
installation  into  office,  issued  an  address  to  the  farm 
ers  urging  them  to  increase  their  acreage  of  crops  to  the 

251 


252  PRESIDENT   JOHN 

greatest  possible  extent,  and  offered,  on  the  part  of  the 
government,  to  supply  any  reasonable  quantity  of  seed 
corn  or  grain  of  any  kind.  Thousands  of  requests  were 
made,  and  Secretary  Moulton  made  large  purchases  of 
grain  from  elevator  companies  in  Chicago,  Minneapolis 
and  Duluth,  paying  for" the  same  in  the  new  currency 
and  bonds.  Some  of  the  elevator  men  protested  and 
accepted  the  crisp  new  bills  with  poor  grace.  They 
had  no  alternative,  however,  and  contented  themselves 
with  denouncing  the  "fiat  stuff"  and  proclaiming  that 
they  had  been  robbed  in  the  name  of  the  law.  The 
banks  and  merchants  at  first  refused  to  accept  the  new 
money  except  at  a  heavy  discount.  This  was  just 
what  the  enemies  of  the  administration  had  predicted, 
and  they  took  a  grim  satisfaction  in  the  realization  of 
their  doleful  forecast. 

Chief  of  Mechanics  Browning  took  possession  of  the 
great  manufacturing  industries  of  the  country.  In  a 
circular  addressed  to  the  owners  he  outlined  the  pol 
icy  of  the  government  as  follows: 

"It  is  imperative  that  the  industries  of  the  United 
States  be  restored  at  once  to  their  fullest  possible  ac 
tivity.  The  supply  of  manufactured  products  is  so 
low  that  the  whole  people  is  threatened  with  want. 
The  government  desires  the  earnest  co-operation  of 
factory-owners  in  this  stupendous  task.  1  am  author 
ized  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  take  tem 
porary  possession  of  your  factory  in  the  name  of  the 
people  and  for  the  common  welfare,  The  government 
will  hold  itself  responsible  for  all  damages  done  your 
machinery,  all  losses  by  fire,  and  other  Josses  during  its 
occupancy.  You  are  earnestly  requested  to  act  as  the 
agent  of  the  government  or  to  appoint  a  representative 
to  act  as  your  agent  during  this  period.  You  will  co 
operate  with  an  officer  of  the  department  of  mechanics, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  jointly  keep  with  your  aid  an 
accurate  account  of  the  value  and  quantity  of  materials 
used  in  production,  the  rate  and  quantity  of  wages  and 
such  other  data  as  properly  come  under  the  department 
of  book-keeping.  Our  representative,  acting  on  your 
advice,  will  fix  a  scale  of  wages  conforming  as  nearly 


THE  RULE   OF    COMMON  SENSE  253 

as  possible  to  the  average  which  prevailed  in  the  fairly 
prosperous  years  of  1879  and  1891.  For  any  material  em 
ployed  in  production, for  your  own  services,  and  for  any 
other  expenses  which  may  be  incurred  or  losses  which 
may  follow  the  "temporary  occupancy  of  the  govern 
ment  you  will  be  reimbursed  by  the  payment  of  govern 
ment  bonds  or  currency.  The  government  officer  will 
pay  the  wages  of  the  men  and  all  other  expenses  which 
may  be  incurred,  and  turn  over  the  finished  product  to 
the  government.  The  department  of  mechanics  trusts 
that  you  will  find  it  to  your  interest  to  co-operate  with 
the  government  at  this  time.  An  immediate  answer  to 
this  communication  is  requested." 

In  response  to  this  fully  65  per  cent  of  the  manufac 
turing  establishments  of  the  United  States  notified  the 
department  of  mechanics  of  the  appointment  of  an 
agent.  Secretary  Browning  appointed  government  rep 
resentatives  for  the  larger  establishments,  and  in  the 
smaller  ones  trusted  for  the  time  to  the  books  of  the 
concern.  Where  manufacturing  concerns  ignored  the 
government  address  the  department  took  possession  of 
the  plants  and  resumed  work.  There  was  some  lit 
tle  trouble,  but  the  firm  stand  of  the  government  soon 
convinced  the  most  stubborn  factory-owner  that  oppo 
sition  was  not  only  futile,  but  foolish.  Every  work 
man  in  the  country  was  pressed  into  service.  They  had 
an  abiding  faith  in  the  administration,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  accept  the  government  scrip. 

President  Smith  issued  a  message  to  the  people, 
warning  holders  of  the  new  currency  or  bonds  against 
accepting  any  discount  from  merchants  or  bankers  un 
less  forced  to  by  the  direst  calamity.  He  informed  the 
people  that  the  government  was  establishing  distribut 
ing  retail  stations  in  every  city  of  the  country, at  which 
government  money  would  be  accepted  at  a  shade  above 
the  labor  cost  of  the  article  purchased.  Bondholders 
were  also  assured  that  their  securities  were  of  the  high 
est  order,  and  were  advised  to  hold  them  for  a  time 
rather  than  sacrifice  the  new  bonds  for  silver  at  a  loss. 
This  address  had  a  slight  reassuring  effect,  but  for  the 


254  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

first  thirty  days  the  government  currency  was  either 
refused  or  accepted  at  a  heavy  discount  by  the  banks, 
merchants  and  retailers,  The  new  bondholders  ac 
cepted  President  Smith's  advice  and  held  on  to  their 
securities,  and  with  more  or  less  faith  awaited  the  re 
sult. 

The  first  government  distributing  system  was  estab 
lished  in  New  York  almost  simultaneously  in  twenty 
places  in  the  city.  Agents  of  the  government  had  no 
difficulty  in  renting  for  a  short  term  many  of  the  large 
unoccupied  buildings,  into  which  there  began  to  pour 
the  products  of  thousands  of  factories.  In  Chicago, 
Cleveland,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  St.  Paul  and  all  the 
great  cities  of  the  country  such  depots  were  in  oper 
ation  before  the  end  of  April.  At  the  outset  these  dis 
tributing  depots  contained  the  simplest  necessities  of 
life,  such  as  flour,  sugar,  cheap  clothing,  meats,  coal 
and  wood.  But  the  prices  caused  a  sensation  and  pre 
cipitated  a  small  panic  among  private  retailers,  and 
even  among  wholesale  merchants.  The  average  rate  of 
wages  then  being  paid  in  the  government  shops  was 
about  $2.50  a  day,  but  with  this  the  workman  was  able 
to  purchase  from  the  ugov.  shops,"  as  they  were  termed, 
twice  as  much  as  the  same  wages  had  formerly  com 
manded.  Tho  government  prices  were  experimental, 
it  being  possible  at  the  start  to  ascertain  only  ap 
proximately  the  cost  price.  As  a  result  the  government 
found  at  the  end  of  a  month  that  it  had  lost  heavily  on 
some  articles  arid  gained  on  others,  but  the  average 
was  a  fairly  accurate  measure  of  the  cost  of  production 
and  distribution. 

The  effect  of  the  introduction  of  the  government 
shops  was  magical  upon  the  private  retail  and  whole 
sale  trade  of  the  country.  The  wholesale  merchants 
had  a  considerable  stock  of  goods  on  hand  and  were 
compelled  to  meet  the  government  prices.  The  retail 
ers  not  only  had  to  meet  the  same  prices,  but  were  com 
pelled  to  accept  the  new  money  in  order  to  do  business. 
The  government  shops  accepted  silver  and  silver  cer 
tificates  at  par  with  the  government  currency.  As  fast 
as  silver  coins  and  the  silver  certificates  were  paid  into 


THE    RULE    OF  COMMON    SENSE  255 

the  depots  they  were  forwarded  to  Washington  and  re 
tired  from  circulation. 

The  government  shops  ha.d  forced  the  credit  of  the 
government  money.  By  the  middle  of  May,  less  than 
six  weeks  after  the  inauguration  of  President  Smith, 
the  inexorable  law  of  supply  and  demand  had  estab 
lished  the  solidity  and  credit  of  the  fiat  currency. 
Every  dollar  which  had  been  issued  from  Washington 
represented  a  fixed  value  and  had  something  substan 
tial  back  of  it.  The  money  advanced  to  the  elevator 
companies  for  seed  grain  was  represented  by  growing 
fields  of  grain.  The  money  advanced  to  the  factory- 
owners  and  to  the  6,000,000  men  already  at  work  was 
represented  by  the  vast  stores  of  products  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  government  stores  and  exchangeable  at 
their  cost  value  for  this  very  currency. 

The  moment  $1  or  $100,000  was  transferred  from 
the  treasury  department  at  Washington  to  a  private 
individual  it  was  represented  by  and  based  on  a  prop 
erty  or  commodity  then  in  the  possession  of  the  govern 
ment.  The  holder  of  the  currency  could  purchase  back 
from  the  government  all  but  a  fraction  of  the  property 
on  which  that  currency  was  issued,  The  credit  of 
this  currency  depended  not  upon  the  fluctuating  in 
trinsic  value  of  stored-up  quantities  of  silver  or 
gold,  at  the  mercy  of  any  bold  or  lucky  developer 
or  discoverer  of  mines.  Its  value  was  enhanced  by  every 
advance  in  civilization  or  discovery  in  science,  inven 
tion,  art  or  skill 

Commerce  with  England  and  other  foreign  countries 
for  the  first  two  months  was  carried  on  by  means  of 
silver,  vast  quantities  of  which  were  stored  in  the  treas 
ury  vaults  at  Washington  as  security  for  the  silver 
certificates.  The  government  coined  into  silver  dollars 
all  of  this  bullion  and  purchased  abroad  such  commod 
ities  as  sugar,  wool,  woolen  manufactures,  chemicals, 
coffee,  flax,  hides,  fruit,  tobacco,  India  rubber,  tea  and 
other  necessities  and  luxuries.  June  16  Congress  demone 
tized  silver,  and  the  secretary  of  state  informed  the 
nations  of  the  world  that  on  and  after  July  1  the 


256  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

UDited  States  government  would  refuse  to  accept  any 
consideration  other  than  its  own  currency.  Europe  re 
fused  to  believe  it. 

Shortly  after  the  passage  of  the  act  demonetizing 
silver  the  representative  of  an  English  grain  syndicate 
called  on  Secretary  of  Commerce  Field  to  negotiate  for 
the  purchase  of  4,000,000  bushels  of  wheat,  large 
quantities  of  which  had  been  exchanged  by  farmers  to 
the  government  in  consideration  of  currency  and  stored 
in  elevators  leased  by  the  department  of  commerce. 
Mr.  Field  and  the  syndicate  representative  agreed  on 
the  price  of  73  cents  per  bushel. 

The  Englishman  tendered  the  amount  in  silver,  and 
was  astonished  to  have  it  refused. 

"Why,  sir,"  said  the  English  gentleman,  "silver  is 
the  standard  coin,  don't  you  know.  It  has  a  ratio  of 
114£  to  1  as  against  gold.  It  has  been  accepted  as  the 
standard  by  the  monetary  congress  of  Europe." 

"lam  aware  of  that,"  said  Mr.  Field, "but,  really, 
we  have  no  use  or  demand  for  silver  at  present.  We 
are  not  even  working  our  silver  mines,  and  have  a  large 
quantify  of  silver  we  would  like  to  dispose  of." 

"No  use  for  silver?  Why,  bless  me,  man,  it  is 
money!" 

"Not  in  the  United  States,"  said  Mr.  Field.  "If 
you  desire  to  buy  any  wheat  from  the  government  you 
will  have  to  pay  us  in  United  States  currency." 

"But  we  have  no  United  States- currency;  it  is  not 
good  in  England,  don't  you  know.  Our  merchants 
won't  accept  it,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  don't  you 
know.  How  am  I  going  to  get  it?"  asked  the  puzzled 
syndicate  representative. 

"That  is  not  a  part  of  my  department,"  answered 
Mr.  Field.  "Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Childs  can  in 
form  you  as  to  that.  The  United  States  accepts  no 
money  other  than  its  own." 

The  Englishman  called  on  Mr.  Childs  and  was  in 
formed  that  the  United  States  could  not  assume  the 
risk  of  accepting  silver  in  payment  for  wheat  or  any 
other  product  of  the  soil  or  of  labor. 

"We  can   mine   enough   silver  in  two  years  to  flood 


THE  RULE  OF   COMMON   SENSE  257 

the  world, "explained  the  kindly  secretary  of  the  treas 
ury.  "For  all  we  know,  there  are  other  such  mines  in 
the  world.  Any  day  may  bring  the  news  of  the  dis 
covery  of  a  new  and  prolific  silver  mine.  That  would 
find  us  with  several  hundred  tons  of  white  metal  on 
our  hands  which  is  valueless  only  in  the  arts.  We  can 
take  no  such  risk.  We  will  accept  any  good  securities 
or  bonds  based  on  land  or  safe  and  imperishable  prop 
erty.  If  you  have  no  such  system  of  currency  or  se 
curity  you  would  beter  make  an  arrangement  with  Mr. 
Field  to  exchange  certain  English  products  for  the 
wheat  you  desire.  If  your  firm  is  responsible  I  may 
accept  their  note  for  the  amount,  provided  it  so  reads 
as  to  be  negotiable  for  English  products  at  current 
rates  governing  the  exchange  of  such  products.  But  we 
will  not  accept  silver.  Perhaps  Mr.  Field  may  make  a 
bargain  with  you  for  copper  or  tin.  I  understand  he 
is  in  the  market  for  tin.  Otherwise,  you  will  be  com 
pelled  to  furnish  me  with  some  absolutely  safe  security, 
in  exchange  for  which  I  will  give  you  the  desired  amount 
of  United  States  currency  or  bonds." 

The  Englishman  returned  home  without  making  the 
purchase.  He  vainly  attempted  to  buy  wheat  from 
Chicago  capitalists,  but  they  would  not  accept  silver, 
the  government  having  retired  it  from  circulation. 
For  nearly  three  months  the  commercial  relations  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  England  were  in  a  pecu 
liar  condition.  The  United  States  continued  to  pur 
chase  from  England,  paying  their  debts  in  silver,  but 
steadily  refusing  to  accept  silver  in  payment  for  any 
thing.  The  commercial  contest  was  too  one-sided,  and 
England  surrendered  and  made  terms  for  United  States 
currency. 

That  was  the  opening  wedge  which  eventually  forced 
the  credit  of  American  money  upon  the  world  and 
finally  established  a  new  international  financial  stand 
ard.  For  ten  years  the  United  States  continued  to  un 
load  silver  upon  Europe  and  the  rest  of  the  world,  re 
ceiving  in  return  every  product  of  labor  from  the  poles 
to  the  equator.  These  foreign  products  were  placed  on 
sale  at  the  government  depots,  and  the  people  of  the 


258  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

United  States  were  not  compelled  to  pay  any  McKinley 
or  other  tariff  as  an  added  price  to  the  cost  of  purchase 
and  transportation.  The  pauper  labor  of  Europe  did 
not  seem  to  bother  the  administration,  and  whenever 
Mr.  Field  could  make  a  good  purchase  of  any  commod 
ity  needed  by  the  people  he  did  so  regardless  of  the 
cost  of  production  in  the  United  States. 

In  a  few  industries  it  was  found  that  the  United 
States  did  not  possess  natural  advantages  which  en 
abled  it  to  produce  at  the  labor  cost  abroad,  and  it  was 
the  policy  of  the  government  to  gradually  curtail  and 
eventually  close  such  industries,  employing  the  re 
sources  and  the  labor  of  American  workmen  in  other 
directions  and  buying  the  required  products  in  the 
cheapest  market.  The  production  of  sugar  and  wool 
was  practically  abandoned,  these  necessities  purchased 
abroad,  and  the  capital  and  labor  formerly  unprofit- 
ably  invested  in  them  was  employed  to  better  advan 
tage.  The  tariff  question  ceased  to  be  an  issue  and  was 
relegated  to  history. 

The  government  took  immediate  possession  of  the 
railroads,  and  Chief  of  Transportation  Jeffery  assumed 
the  control  of  the  175,000  miles  of  railroad.  The  great 
railway  trusts  and  pools  had  simplified  the  work  of 
this  department.  The  railroads  had  already  been  merged 
into  four  or  five  great  trusts.  The  officers  in  control 
were  not  disturbed  at  first,  and  as  a  rule  were  made 
agents  of  the  government  under  Chief  Jeffery.  The 
stockholders  and  bondholders  were  assured  that  their 
property  rights  would  be  respected  and  protected  bjr 
the  government.  In  this  stupendous  industry  the  peace 
ful  revolution  was  effected  without  the  slightest  friction 
and  without  the  loss  of  a  day's  usefulness.  The  rail 
roads  accepted,  of  course,  the  new  currency,  and  this 
had  a  tremendous  influence  in  establishing  the  credit 
of  the  government.  The  inter-state  commerce  com 
mission  operated  with  the  government,  and  the  great 
railroad  presidents  lent  valuable  assistance  to  the  ad 
ministration.  Many  of  them  had  for  years  been  in 
favor  of  the  national  control  of  railroads  and  had  fore 
seen  that  such  was  the  inevitable  trend  of  events.  It 


THE  RULE   OP   COMMON  SENSE  259 

was  not  necessary  to  issue  government  bonds  to  the 
owners  of  railroad  property,  the  administration  pledg 
ing  itself  to  recognize,  at  the  proper  time,  all  lawful 
issues  of  stocks  and  bonds. 

President  Smith  assumed  personal  supervision  over 
the  most  difficult,  complicated  and  delicate  problem 
confronting  the  administration,  that  of  taking  posses 
sion  of  unused  and  unoccupied  land.  A  land  commis 
sion  was  formed  and  the  work  subdivided  among  the 
several  states.  The  title  to  every  acre  of  property  in 
the  United  States  was  examined  into  and  properly 
classified.  Speculators  had  subdivided  their  holdings 
in  anticipation  of  this  action  of  the  government  and 
rendered  the  task  a  more  difficult  one.  In  mining  lands 
the  commission  allowed  to  the  owners  an  acreage  equal 
to  thirty  years'  average  development  of  the  mines  then 
in  operation,  taking  as  the  standard  of  measurement 
the  highest  production  in  any  given  year.  In  mines, 
as  well  as  in  forest  and  other  property,  recent  transfers 
made  with  an  evident  intent  of  defeating  the  policy  of 
the  government  were  ignored. 

The  vast  undeveloped  tracts  of  land  in  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  the  central  states  which  had  been 
held  for  years  by  home  and  foreign  speculators  were 
condemned  and  purchased  and  their  holders  paid  a  fair 
profit  on  their  investment.  The  work  of  the  commis 
sion  was  rendered  more  easy  by  the  action  of  Congress, 
which  in  September  levied  a  heavy  tax  on  all  unoccu 
pied  or  unimproved  land,  which  had  the  effect  of  de 
stroying  its  speculative  value.  It  was  many  years 
before  the  land  commission  completed  its  work,  which, 
while  of  great  importance  to  the  future  of  the  country, 
was  not  of  such  vital  consequence  to  the  people  of  that 
time.  The  United  States  eventually  found  itself  the 
owner  by  purchase,  condemnation,  and  forfeiture  by 
reason  of  non-payment  of  land  taxes,  of  over  one-half 
of  the  fertile, productive  land  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  not  less  than  85  per  cent  of  the  coal,  iron  and  other 
mining  lands. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


PROVISIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 

UNDER*the  provisional  government  the  people  were 
enjoying  a  prosperity  such  as  had  never  before  come 
to  a  nation,  and  on  every  hand  was  expressed  the  hope 
that  the  administration  would  make  no  change.  But 
President  Smith  was  eager  for  the  day  when  Congress 
could  safely  declare  the  provisional  government  at  an 
end,  and  the  President  and  his  cabinet  bent  every  en 
ergy  in  that  direction.  In  the  latter  part  of  June, 
Treasurer  Childs  had  perfected  the  permanent  system 
of  finance,  which  consisted  of: 

1.  United  States  paper  currency  of  denominations 
of  $1,  $2,  $5,  $10,  $20,  $50,  $100,    $200  and   $500,  and 
a  fractional  currency  of  1-cent,  2-cent,  5-cent,  10  cent, 
25-cent  and   50-cent  pieces,  stamped  on  aluminium,  a 
cheap  and  light  metal. 

2.  Agricultural  certificates  of  the  same  denomina 
tions  as  the  currency,  and  issued  upon   standard   farm 
products  sold  to  the  government. 

3.  State  certificates  issued  to  a  federal  state  by  the 
general  government  on  the  credit  of  the   state,  and  of 
the  same  denominations  as  the  Currency. 

4.  Municipal  certificates  issued  to  an   incorporated 
city  by  the  general   government  on   the   credit  of  the 
city,  and  of  the  same  denominations  as  the  currency. 

5.  Manufacturing  certificates  issued    to    owners  of 
factories  and  manufacturing  plants  by  the  general  gov 
ernment  in  consideration  of  the  purchase  of  said  plants 
by  the  government.   These  certificates  were  in  denomi 
nations    of   $50,    $100,    $200,    and   $500,    and  $1,000, 
$2,000,  $5,000,  and  $10,000. 

6.  Railroad,  telegraph,  and    general  bonds  issued  to 
the  owners  of   railroads,  telegraph,  or  other  corporate 

260 


PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  261 

stocks  or  bonds  of  denominations  of  $100,  $200,  and 
$500,  and  $1,000,  $2,000,  $5,000,  and  $10,000. 

The  government  currency  and  agricultural  certifi 
cates  were  intended  as  a  general  circulating  medium 
for  the  payment  of  wages  and  for  the  general  use  of 
the  people.  The  government  was  authorized  to  issue  a 
sufficient  volume  to  meet  all  the  demands  of  production. 
The  secretary^of  the  treasury  was  authorized  to  issue 
agricultural  certificates  upon  such  standard  grains  as 
could  be  easily  stored  and  for  which  the  world  always 
had  a  market.  He  was  ajso  empowered  to  determine 
from  time  to  time  the  certificate  value  of  such  grain 
or  standard  and  ever  negotiable  farm  product. 

State  and  municipal  certificates  were  issued  to  fed 
eral  states  and  cities  for  public  improvements5and  were 
redeemable  after  stated  terms  of  years  in  national  cur 
rency  raised  by  the  states  or  cities  from  the  revenues 
of  such  public  improvements  or  by  taxation. 

Manufacturing  certificates  were  issued  by  the  gov 
ernment  in  the  purchase  of  manufacturing  plants,  be 
ing  a  full  payment  for  such  property  on  terms  mutu 
ally  agreed  upon  by  the  government  and  the  owner  or 
owners  of  such  property.  These  certificates  were  ex 
changeable  at  any  time  by  the  government  into  cur 
rency. 

The  most  important  issue  was  that  of  railroad 
bonds.  The  railroad  capital  of  the  United  States  in 
1891,  according  to  the  report  of  the  inter-state  railroad 
commission,  was  $9,437,343,420,  divided  as  follows: 

Railroad  stock $4,409,658,485 

Funded  debt 4,574,576,181 

Miscellaneous  debt 453,108.804 


Total $9,437,343,420 

"Of  this, "says  the  report  of  the  commissioners, "the 
bonds  or  funded  debt  represents  the  certain  or  bed-rock 
value  of  the  railway  property,  while  the  stocks  repre 
sent  their  speculative  value." 

The  dividends  on  this  stock  and  payments  of  interest 
on  the  bonds  amounted  to  an  annual  dividend,  interest 


262  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

or  profit,  of  3.85  per  cent.  In  no  year  after  1891  had 
the  railroads  shown  an  equal  prosperity,  and  the  state 
ment  of  that  year  was  accepted  as  a  fair  basis  of  settle 
ment.  The  railroad  property  of  the  United  States  was 
appraised  by  Congress  at  $5,400,000,000,  and  bonds  for 
that  amount  were  issued  to  the  stock  and  bond  owners, 
the  said  bonds  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  4  per 
cent, or  $216,000,000  annually, a  sum  exceeding  that  for 
merly  paid  in  dividends  and  interest,  except  in  the 
more  prosperous  years.  These  bonds  bore  interest  for  a 
term  of  thirty  years  and  were  so  numbered  that  one- 
thirtieth  of  the  total  amount,  or  $180,000,000,  was  re 
tired  each  year-by  the  government,  both  interest  and 
principal  being  paid  in  currency.  The  cancellation  of 
the  face  of  the  bond  did  not  impair  its  interest  cou 
pons,  which  were  payable  each  year.  The  government 
therefore  stipulated  to  pay  to  the  railroad  owners  the 
sum  of  $396,000,000  annually  for  a  period  of  thirty 
years,  or  a  total  sum  of  $11,880,000,000.  These  figures 
fairly  staggered  the  people  and  many  declared  that  it 
could  never  be  done. 

In  answer  to  this  criticism,  which  amounted  almost 
to  a  protest,  President  Smith  in  a  message  to  the  people 
said: 

"The  reason  why  it  can  and  -will  be  done  will  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  it  has  been  done  for  years  under 
the  most  distressing  financial  circumstances  and  even 
when  the  whole  nation  was  staggering  under  the  handi 
cap  of  restricted  production  and  general  business  and 
financial  depression.  The  people  of  the  United  States 
have  created  nothing  greater  than  themselves.  They 
have  always  paid  by  their  patronage  all  dividends 
which  have  accrued  to  the  stock  and  bond  holders, 
and  have  annually  added  to  the  railroad  equipment  a 
value  of  not  less  than  $200,000,000  a  year.  The  $216,- 
000,000  fairly  represents  the  earnings  of  the  roads, 
which  will  be  vastlv  increased  under  the  management 
of  the  government."  The  $180,000,000  applied  to  the 
purchase  of  the  roads  divided  among  the  75,000,000 
people  of  the  United  States  amounts  to  $2.40  per  capita, 
or  to  less  than  $10  a  year  to  the  average  head  of  a  fam- 


PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT  263 

ily.  The  decreased  cost  of  products  to  the  consumer  in 
cident  to  a  lessened  rate  of  transportation  vviJl  more 
than  thrice  offset  this  trifling  sum,," 

This  was  strictly  true.  The  consumer  and  the  pro 
ducer  had  always  paid  not  only  the  stock  dividends  but 
the  interest  on  the  bonds.  Every  day,  when  the  citi 
zen  of  the  United  States  seated  himself  at  the  breakfast 
or  dinner  table,  he  paid  a  small  tribute  to  the  railroad 
stock  and  bond  holders.  From  across  the  broad  At 
lantic  the  long  arm  of  the  English,  Belgian,  German 
and  Holland  bondholder  reached  out  and  collected  its 
tax.  Every  dollar  of  this  represented  the  product  of 
American  labor.  It  meant  that  the  American  work 
men  were  compelled  to  annually  produce  $500,000,000 
worth  of  grain,  boots  and  shoes,  lumber,  cotton  goods, 
knives, etc., the  proceeds  of  which  went  to  pay  the  divi 
dends  and  interest  of  the  railway  capital.  The  burden 
was  not  increased  by  the  government  purchase  of  these 
roads.  The  sum  stipulated  was  enormous  in  the  aggre 
gate,  but  under  a  system  which  permitted  the  people  to 
produce  to  their  full  capacity  the  $11,880,000,000  was 
a  mere  trifle. 

Even  under  the  provisional  government  over  3,000,- 
000  formerly  idle  men  had  been  placed  at  work.  This 
was  in  excess  of  the  number  which  had  at  any  former 
time  been  employed  in  production.  Their  work  was  a 
clear  gain  to  the  community.  It  was  more  than  that. 
Formerly  the  community  had  to  support  them  in  idle 
ness.  Each  of  those  8,000,000  men  created  a  product 
of  value  not  less  than  $3  a  day,  or  $9  000,000  a  day. and 
$2,700,000,000  for  the  300  working  days  in  a  year. 
These  3,000,000  idle  men,  unaided  by  the  20,000,000 
other  producers  of  the  United  States,  were  therefore 
able  to  cancel  the  entire  debt  to  the  railroad  stock  and 
bond  holders— a  sum  of  $11,880,000,000— in  the  short 
space  of  four  years  and  fi\e  months. 

To  put  it  in  another  way,  the  obligation  assumed  by 
the  government  was  annually  met  by  the  labor  of  560, 
000  men,  less  than  one-ninth  of  those  who  had  for 
merly  been  forced  into  idleness.  The  5,000,000  men  who 
were  idle  in  1893  could  produce  every  mile  of  railroad, 


264  PRESIDENT    JOHN    SMITH 

every  car,  bridge,  and  the  entire  assets  of  the  railroad 
companies  of  the  United  States  in  less  than  eighteen 
months.  They  could  do  even  better  than  this.  The 
railroad  values  were  based  on  labor  performed  by  the 
clumsy  processes  in  use  in  former  years  before  the  time 
of  steam  dredges,  shovels, and  all  the  magnificent  equip 
ments  of  the  present. 

Had  it  been  necessary  the  United  States  could  have 
duplicated  the  railroad  property  in  a  year  without  the 
slightest  strain  on  the  national  resources. 

This  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  waste  of  pro 
duction  permitted  in  the  years  before  the  reign  of  com 
mon  sense.  The  United  States  railroad  bonds  became 
the  finest  securities  ever  placed  on  the  market  of  the 
world.  They  were  based  on  the  actual  railroad  prop 
erty  and  bucked  by  the  credit  of  the  United  States. 
Their  annual  interest  amounted  to  more  than  had  ever 
been  paid  in  dividends  and  in  interest  on  bonds  and  was 
payable  in  a  currency  which  could  by  no  possibility  de 
preciate.  They  had  a  life  of  thirty  years — a  genera 
tion — with  interest  paid  in  some  cases  for  twenty-nine 
years  after  the  face  of  the  bond  had  been  redeemed. 
This  system  worked  exact  justice  to  every  holder  of 
railroad  property.  It  would  have  been  manifestly  wrong 
for  the  government  to  have  taken  possession  of  the  rail 
road  property  and  forced  the  acceptance  of  non-interest 
bearing  bonds  in  full  payment.  This  would  have 
deprived  investors  of  a  steady  income  for  a  term  of 
years — a  consideration  they  were  clearly  entitled  to, 
and  one  which  was  recognized  by  the  government. 

The  new  railroad  bonds  commanded  a  high  premium, 
and  were  eagerly  sought  after  by  European  investors. 
The  manufacturing  certificates  were  also  accepted 
abroad  as  a  perfect  security,  being  represented  by  im 
proved  and  steadily  enhancing  property. 

The  administration  proceeded,  after  the  adoption 
'and  installation  of  the  permanent  system  of  finance, 
to  organize  its  industries  on  a  solid  basis.  Up  to  this 
time  the  government  had  been  acting  under  a  provi 
sional  form,  in  which  the  administration  had  for  the 
time  annulled  all  laws,  though  aiming  to  work  injus- 


PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  265 

tice  to  DO  private  interest.  ID  this  President  Smith  aiid 
his  cabiDet  had  succeeded  even  beyoDd  their  fondest 
expectatioDS.  The  liberal  treatment  accorded  manu 
facturers  and  capitalists  had  won  to  the  administration 
thousands  of  powerful  friends,  who  rendered  valuable 
aid  in  the  permanent  introduction  of  the  government 
workshops.  Congress  placed  at  the  credit  of  the  depart 
ment  of  mechanics  the  sum  of  $2,000,000,000  to  be  ex 
pended  in  the  purchase  and  extension  of  manufactur 
ing  plants  and  machinery. 

Chief  Browning  devoted  a  coDsiderable  part  of  this 
sum  to  the  erectioD  of  machine  shops  near  Philadel 
phia,  New  York,  Chicago,  Cleveland,  St.  Louis,  Cin- 
cinnati  and  other  manufacturing  cities.  Large  forces 
of  machinists  were  placed  at  work  in  the  production 
of  standard  and  special  machinery.  About  one-half  of 
the  appropriation  was  expended  in  the  purchase  of 
fully  equipped  plants.  Large  agricultural  manufactur 
ing  plants  were  located  at  Omaha,  St.  Paul  and  Kan 
sas  City,  giving  employment  to  about  30,000  men.  In 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin  the  department  rapidly  devel 
oped  the  lumber  industries. 

In  his  report  to  Congress  January  1,  1898,  Statisti 
cian  Wright  reported  that  the  goverDment  had  pur 
chased  6,223  manufacturing  plants  at  a  price  of  $876,- 
485,000  and  had  invested  in  551  new  plaDts  the  sum  of 
$423,000,000.  He  estimated  that  the  551  Dew  establish 
ments,  then  under  construction,  would,  when  com 
pleted,  exhaust  the  12,000,000,000  appropriation,  each 
plant  representing  an  average  investment  of  $2,000,- 
000.  There  were  employed  in  the  purchased  plants 
439,420  workmen  and  in  the  new  government  enter 
prises  a  total  of  396, 718, a  grand  total  in  the  employ  of 
the  department  of  mechanics  of  836,138.  The  average 
rate  of  wages  was  $2.98  a  day*  the  minimum  wage  be 
ing  $1.75  and  skilled  workmen  receiving  from  $3.50  to 
$10  and,  in  exceptional  cases,  $18  and  $20  per  day.  The 
cost  of  direct  government  supervision  had  been  1.3  per 
cent  of  the  total  product,  this  sum  representing  the  pro 
portional  expenses  of  the  national  government,  the  sala 
ries  of  government  officials  and  inspectors  directly  in 


. 
266  PBESIDENT  JOip    SMttfflf 

charge, and  other  general  expenses.  The  products  of  these 
industries  had  been  sold  to  the  customer  at  an  average  ex 
cess  of  9|  per  cent  over  their  cost  price.  This  repre 
sented  the  expenses  of  transportation,  retailing,  and 
losses  from  various  causes.  Statistician  Wright  stated 
that  this  percentage  could  be  materially  reduced. 

In  his  report  to  congress  Chief  Moulton  of  the  depart 
ment  of  agriculture  set  forth  that  his  department  was 
ready  to  rent  or  lease  farming  lands, and  in  a  few  weeks 
would  be  able  to  co-operate  with  the  department  of 
mechanics  and  enable  occupants  of  government  land 
to  secure,  upon  proper  security, such  farming  tools  and 
machinery  as  was  necessary.  His  report  showed  an 
average  crop  thrQughout  the  country,  only  a  small 
portion  of  which  had  been  sold  abroad. 

Chief  Skiff  of  the  department  of  mining  reported 
that  little  had  been  accomplished  in  his  department, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  mining  machinery  and  the  neces 
sary  caution  of  the  land  commission  in  proceeding  with 
its  work,  The  government  had  purchased  and  acquired 
by  condemnation  valuable  iron  mining  lands, and  work 
on  such  lands  would  be  hastened  as"  rapidly  as  possible. 
The  forced  development  of  the  mines  under  the  man 
agement  of  the  government  had  reduced  the  price  of 
ores  until  it  was  possible,  if  advisable,  to  export  large 
quantities  to  England  and  other  countries.  The  chief 
made  no  recommendation  on  this  point. 

Attorney-General  Burke  submitted  a  long  report, 
detailing  the  work  and  proceedings  of  the  inter-state 
legal  convention,  called  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
code  of  laws  in  conformity  with  the  new  constitution 
The  secretary  of  the  interior  and  superintendent  of 
education  reported  that  no  material  changes  had  been 
made  in  their  departments,  the  postal  and  school  sys 
tems  having  been  well  nigh  perfected  under  preceding 
administrations.  Superintendent  Ely  recommended 
the  founding  of  great  universities  in  New  York,  Chica 
go,  Denver  and  San  Francisco,  modeled  after  the  Co 
lumbian  Exposition  held  at  Chicago  in  1893. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DOWNFALL    OF    THE    MIDDLEMAN. 

APRIL  4,  1902,  exactly  one  year  after  President 
Smith's  inaugural,  Congress  declared  the  provisional 
government  at  an  end  and  decreed  the  constitution  as 
adopted  by  the  people  in  full  force  and  effect.  The  day 
was  one  of  great  rejoicing,  tinged  with  a  slight  feeling 
of  apprehension  among  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
workmen  who  for  a  year  had  been  retained  at  work  by 
the  authority  of  the  government.  There  were  fears 
among  the  timid  that  many  of  them  would  be  dis 
charged  or  their  wages  reduced,  but  the  majority  had 
faith  in  the  future,  and  the  first  anniversary  of  the 
new  government  was  celebrated  with  parades  and  great 
public  demonstrations.  In  his  annual  message  to  Con 
gress  and  to  the  people  President  Smith  paid  a  tribute 
to  the  capitalists  and  great  manufacturers  of  the  coun 
try.  In  his  message  the  President  said: 

"The  administration  is  under  deep  obligations  to 
the  manufacturers,  railroads,  and  other  capitalists 
of  the  United  States,  who  have  loyally  aided  the  gov 
ernment  in  the  stupendous  task  of  repairing  the  losses 
inflicted  by  years  of  idleness  and  depression.  With  but 
few  exceptions  they  have  voluntarily  placed  the  entire 
resources  of  their  great  producing  plants  in  the  hands 
of  the  administration  and  have  generously  co-operated 
with  us  in  the  work  of  the  last  twelve  months.  Such  of 
these  factories,  mills  and  plants  as  have  not  been  pur 
chased  by  the  government  are  now  placed  in  the  full 
possession  of  their  former  owners.  With  but  few  excep 
tions  the  government  has  made  a  satisfactory  settle 
ment  with  the  owners  for  the  use  of  their  plants  and  in 
payment  for  materials,  and  all  disputes  which  have 
arisen  have  been  submitted  to  arbitration,  the  verdict 
of  which  will  be  accepted  by  both  parties. 

267 


268  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

"Every  industry  of  the  country  is  now  in  full  oper 
ation,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  the 
Gulf  to  the  British  line  no  American  workman  is  idle 
by  reason  of  a  lack  of  opportunity  to  work.  A  refer 
ence  to  the  accurate  reports  submitted  to  Congress  by 
the  secretary  of  census  and  statistics  shows  that  the 
total  output  of  manufactured  products  for  the  year 
more  than  doubles  that  of  1891,  which  was  considered 
a  prosperous  year,  and  quadruples  that  of  the  corre 
sponding  period  of  1900,  the  year  preceding  the  adop 
tion  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 

"It  will  be  the  policy  of  the  government  in  the  second 
year  of  its  existence  to  extend  the  industries  now  in 
process  of  construction, and  to  add  to  their  number  and 
scope  as  rapidly  as  the  prosperity  of  the  people  will 
permit.  The  government  now  enters  into  a  friendly 
competition  with  the  private  capital  and  manufactur 
ing  interest  of  this  country,  but  none  of  its  powers  will 
be  exercised  to  secure  an  unfair  or  unnatural  advan 
tage.  Railroad  rates  will  be  made  uniform,  all  depart 
ments  of  the  government  paying  into  the  department 
of  transportation  such  freight  and  other  rates  as  that 
department  may  establish,  which  rate  shall  be  the  same 
as  those  made  to  private  users. 

"No  system  of  taxation  shall  be  proposed  or  adopted 
which  shall  operate  against  private  interests,  and  what 
ever  influence  the  executive  or  the  present  cabinet  pos 
sesses  will  be  urged  against  any  discriminating  legisla 
tion.  It  is  but  fair  that  private  capital  and  the  private 
machinery  of  production  should  bear  its  fair  share  of 
the  common  expenses  of  the  government,  and  to  that 
end  it  shall  be  the  policy  of  the  administration  to  urge 
the  adoption  of  a  system  which  shall  place  the  burden 
upon  lands  held  for  purely  speculative  purposes.1' 

The  provisional  government  came  to  an  end  and  the 
constitution  entered  into  effect  without  the  slightest 
friction  or  disturbance  of  the  affairs  of  the  country.  The 
government  officers  were  withdrawn  from  private  fac 
tory  and  mill.  The  thousands  of  workmen  applied  for 


DOWNFALL   OF   THE  MIDDLEMAN  269 

work  the  next  morning  and  with  hardly  an  exception 
were  assigned  to  their  former  positions.  There  were 
some  slight  modifications  of  the  wage  scale  and  a  few 
men  were  discharged.  Such  men  applied  at  the  govern 
ment  shops  and  were  placed  at  work.  The  changed 
condition  had  no  effect  on  the  government  industries, 
and  the  Bureau  of  Industry  steadily  increased  the  force  of 
workmen,  drawing  upon  the  private  concerns  for  its 
extra  men.  Under  this  stimulus  wages  rose  slightly, 
the  manufacturers  being  compelled  to  meet  the  govern 
ment  prices  in  order  to  retain  their  workmen. 

The  first  congressional  election  was  held  Jan.  10,  un 
der  the  new  apportionment  of  districts  as  prepared  by 
the  preceding  Congress.  Of  the  200  congressmen  nearly 
two-thirds  were  selected  from  the  membership  of  the 
provisional  Congress,  which  had  been  in  continuous 
session  for  a  year. 

The  newly  elected  Congress  assembled  in  Washing 
ton  Jan.  28.  The  most  important  question  before  it  was 
that  of  immigration.  A  long  debate  on  this  problem 
ensued.  Immigration  had  almost  ceased  in  1896,  but 
the  prosperity  of  the  country  under  the  new  government 
brought  thousands  of  more  or  less  desirable  emigrants 
from  the  old  country.  Many  citizens  were  in  favor  of 
absolutely  prohibiting  immigration,  and  others  urged 
that  this  was  not  only  unwise,  but  impolitic. 

At  the  close  of  the  debate  Congress  submitted  three 
propositions  to  the  people  for  an  informal  expression 
of  opinion.  The  first  provided  for  a  restriction  of  im 
migration  to  300,000  a  year  for  a  period  of  five  years, 
the  second  provided  for  the  absolute  restriction  of  im 
migration,  and  the  third  for  no  restriction  or  limita 
tion  of  immigration.  The  people  by  an  overwhelming 
majority  indorsed  the  second  proposition  and  Congress 
enacted  it  as  a  law. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  people  made  a  mis 
take  the  first  time  they  decided  a  great  popular  ques 
tion.  For  years  many  of  the  evils  of  the  country  had 
been  charged  against  immigration.  It  was  a  curse  un 
der  such  conditions  as  prevailed  in  1870-1896,  but  those 


270  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

conditions  were  changed.  There  was  a  demand  for 
workmen.  Production  had  increased  to  such  a  point 
and  work  was  so  plentiful  that  Chicago,  New  York  and 
other  large  cities  found  it  impossible  to  employ  men  to 
work  on  the  streets.  Farmers  could  not  obtain  hired 
hands.  In  all  departments  where  hard  or  distasteful 
labor  was  required  it  was  impossible  to  employ  men 
except  at  very  high  wages.  The  government  found  it 
impossible  to  hire  all  the  men  it  required.  Six  months 
after  the  passage  of  the  law  prohibiting  immigration 
the  people  repealed  it  and  substituted  a  law  providing 
for  the  admission  of  450, 000  foreign  workmen  a  year, 
with  strict  provisions  against  the  admission  of  crimi 
nals  or  paupers.  In  1904  this  law  was  repealed  and  all 
restrictions  taken  from  immigration.  The  country  was 
then  in  a  position  to  take  care  of  any  number  of  indus 
trious  men,  and  what  was  more,  the  overthrow  of  the 
German  and  Russian  empires  had  opened  to  the  people 
of  those  countries  vast  tracts  of  crown  lands  which 
were  taken  possession  of  by  the  newly  formed  republics 
and  leased  to  the  land-starved  people.  In  Germany 
over  one-third  of  the  most  fertile  land  in  the  empire 
had  been  reserved  by  the  king  and  the  nobility  for 
hunting  preserves. 

Congress  submitted  to  the  people  a  system  of  tax 
ation  providing  for  a  tax  on  land,  by  which  house  lots, 
and  home  property  owned  by  the  occupant  was  exempt 
from  taxation.-  All  rent  and  income-producing  lands 
were  slightly  taxed,  as  were  farm  lands  under  cultiva 
tion.  Unoccupied  and  unused  lands,  whether  held 
for  speculative  purposes  or  otherwise,  were  heavily 
taxed. 

The  first  four  years  of  President  Smith's  administra 
tion  were  years  of  prodigious  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
government.  Not  until  the  latter  part  of  1904  could  the 
government  industries  be  considered  as  being  upon  a 
permanent  basis.  These  were  years  of  construction  :n 
which  vast  amounts  of  labor  were  expended  on  build 
ings,  mines  and  forests,  and  nature  was  levied  on  for 
much  of  her  prolific  treasure.  President  Smith  was 
elected  to  a  second  term  in  1904. 


DOWNFALL   OP   THE    MIDDLEMAN  271 

Four  years  before,  John  Smith,  a  plain  American 
citizen,  with  good,  honest  common  sense  which  went 
as  far  as  to  consider  government  a  matter  of  business 
and  not  of  sentiment — John  Smith  found  himself  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  and  in  a  position  to  put  into 
practice  those  business  principles  which  the  "patriot 
ism"  of  1898, '94  and  '95  denounced  as  visionary  and 
its  advocates  as  cranks. 

In  those  four  years  the  nation  had  almost  doubled 
its  wealth.  John  Smith  entered  upon  the  first  presi 
dential  term  at  a  time  when  the  United  States  was  act 
ually  starving  to  death.  The  country  was  constitu 
tionally  built  on  the  lines  of  a  turtle,  which  when 
turned  on  its  back  has  no  power  to  right  itself  and 
miserably  starves  surrounded  by  plenty.  Every  panic 
turned  the  clumsy  creature  on  its  back. 

President  Smith's  first  term  witnessed  the  decline  of 
the  middleman.  The  middleman  came  into  existence 
back  in  the  centuries  and  reached  his  highest  develop 
ment  in  the  later  years  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
He  flourished  as  a  wholesaler,  jobber,  retailer,  petty 
tradesman,  peddler,  fakir,  agent,  and  had  a  thousand 
branches  and  ramifications.  The  middleman  was  the 
direct  product  of  a  false  system  of  industry.  He  ex 
isted  by  manipulating  the  products  of  others.  Like 
any  institution  founded  on  false  principles,  the  struct 
ure  raised  by  the  middleman  was  doomed  to  destruction. 

The  middleman  was  in  his  glory  in  1893.  Take  a 
hat,  for  instance  There  was  the  manufacturer  who 
made  the  hat  and  the  people  who  wanted  to  buy  and 
wear  the  hat.  It  would  seem  a  simple  transaction, but 
it  was  far  from  it.  The  manufacturer  sold  his  hats  to 
a  jobber,  the  jobber  purchasing  them  in  large  quantities 
at  a  small  margin.  The  jobber  in  turn  sold  them  to 
the  wholesaler,  who  kept  hats  and  caps  and  many  other 
specialties.  The  wholesaler  sold  them  to  the  retailer 
fit  a  profit,  and  the  retailer  sold  them  to  the  customer. 
The  manufacturer  had,  therefore,  presumably,  made  a 
profit,  the  jobber  had  made  a  profit,  the  wholesaler  had 
made  a  profit,  the  retailer  had  made  a  profit  and  the 
customer  was  permitted  Jo  buy  a  hat. 


,272  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

This  beautiful  system  was  defended  in  1893  and  in 
I  other  years  by  people  who  were  fearful  that  the  trusts 
or  something  were  menacing  the  "occupations  and  use 
fulness"  of  the  middlemen.  The, great  trusts  and  the 
general  stores  ignored  the  middlemen  and  kept  eating 
up  the  little  retailers,  and  people  denounced  the  trusts 
and  all  other  comprehensive  and  scientific  systems  of 
handling  productions. 

Great  retail  stores  in  Chicago  and  similar  enterprises 
/  in  other  large  cities  bought  directly  of  the  manufactur 
er  and  ignored  both  wholesaler  and  jobber.  The  little 
retailer  could  not  compete  with  them, and  many  people 
who  reason  with  a  substance  which  takes  the  place  of 
brains  condemned  the  great  stores  and  passed  laws 
against  any  concerns  which  attempted  to  carry  on  the 
business  of  the  distributers  of  products  in  a  scientific 
manner.  The  trust,  with  its  national  policy,  its  con 
formity  to  the  laws  of  business,  of  supply  and  demand, 
and  to  every  natural  law  of  production  and  distribu 
tion,  was  condemned  by  law;  state  legislators  and 
Congress  were  appealed  and  petitioned  to  destroy  the 
one  valuable  product  of  modern  commercialism. 

But  all  the  man-made  laws  in  the  world  could  not 
destroy  the  trust.  Its  birth  was  inevitable.  It  came 
as  a  prophecy  of  something  to  follow.  The  trust  did 
not  conform  to  the  age  in  which  it  survived,  but  that 
was  not  the  fault  of  the  trust,  but  of  the  age.  The 
trust  was  not  an  unselfish  affair  and  was  not  intended 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  but  it  was  scientifically 
perfect  and  was  the  fittest  to  survive.  It  crushed  down 
competition — the  foolish,  petty  haggling  among  small 
merchants  which  went  by  the  name  of  competition — 
and  absorbed  small  rivals  as  a  snowball  grows  in  vol 
ume  as  it  rolls  down-hill.  The  general  store  and  em 
porium  was  formed  on  economic  lines,  and  thousands 
of  small  retailers  were  forced  by  it  out  of  business.  It 
was  hard  on  them,  but  they  were  members  of  a  class 
whom  progress  had  marked  for  slaughter.  They  were 
going  the  same  way  as  the  old  stage-driver,  the  old 
mail-carrier  and  the  ferry-boat  man. 

But  some  foolish  people  wanted  to  stop  the  wheels  of 


v 


DOWNFALL   OF   THE  MIDDLEMAN  278 

progress  because  the  job  of  the  retailer  was  threatened. 
The  ujob"  was  the  thing  in  1890-96.  The  great  prob 
lem  was  to  furnish  "jobs."  It  made  no  difference  to 
the  political  economist  whether  the  job  was  a  produc 
tive  one  or  not.  The  capitalist  or  philanthropist  who 
would  set  100  men  at  "work"  hauling  stone  up  the 
street  and  then  hauling  it  back  again  indefinitely  was 
considered  a  public  benefactor.  He  had  given  men 
"work,"  a  "job."  The  retailers  had  a  "job"  and  it 
was  generally  as  non-productive  as  any  occupation  well 
could  be. 

In  1893  the  retailer -was  nothing  but  a  wageworker. 
His  importance  to  the  community  had  lessened  year  by 
year.  Slowly  but  surely  he  was  being  forced  to  the 
wall  by  thfl  powerful  and  well-equipped  general  stores. 
In  the  great  cities  thousands  of  them  were  forced  to 
the  wall  by  the  panic  of  1893,  and  on  distinctively  re 
tail  streets  the  doors  of  stores  were  plastered  with 
sheriff's  notices.  The  advent  of  a  great  department 
store,  backed  by  unlimited  capital,  meant  the  certain 
downfall  of  from  100  to  500  retailers.  The  general 
store  sold  better  goods  at  cheaper  prices.  It  could 
afford  to  and  yet  make  a  profit.  One  clerk  in  a  great 
store  easily  did  the  work  of  a  dozen  in  a  small  retail 
shop.  It  was  but  another  illustration  of  the  develop 
ment  of  the  machine.  The  department  store  was  mod- 
*  ern,  scientific  and  labor-saving.  The  retail  store  was 
antique,  unscientific  and  labor-creating.  It  fostered 
useless  labor.  It  ran  on  useless  errands.  It  was  the 
old  stage  coach  pitted  against  the  compound  locomo 
tive  with  its  record  of  100  miles  an  hour. 

The  retail  store  was  doomed  in  1893 — surely  and  in 
evitably  doomed — but  its  fate  was  deplored  by  a  cer 
tain  class  of  alleged  thinkers,  who  wanted  the  obsolete 
system  of  petty  retailing  continued  because  it  made 
"work."  These  same  men  would  have  destroyed  a 
valuable  machine  because  it  saves  "work."  They  hated 
a  trust  because  by  a  system  of  production  and  distribu 
tion  it  made  profit  by  doing  away  with  "work." 

But  a  day  had  come  when  the  people  wanted  not 
"work,"  but  rather  the  products  of  work,  and  the  prob- 


274  PRESIDENT   JOHN   SMITH 

lem  was  to  derive  the  greatest  results  with  the  least 
expenditure  of  toil. 

In  1893  a  great  invention  was  a  curse.  It  did  away 
with  work. 

In  1903  a  great  invention  was  a  blessing.  It  did 
away  with  work. 

In  1893  a  great  fire  was  a  blessing.  It  destroyed  the 
products  of  work  and  created  a  demand  for  labor.  In 
1903  a  great  lire  was  a  national  calamity.  It  had  de 
stroyed  the  products  of  labor  and  decreased  the  actual 
wealth  of  the  nation. 

The  government  had  not  extended  its  scope  so  as  to 
include  all  of  the  forms  of  industry.     Such  was  not  its 
policy.     The  administration    confined  its  attention  to   " 
the  production  of  the  actual  standard  necessities  of  life   / 
and  left  to  private  capital  the  development  of  the  hun-   ) 
dreds  of  specialties  which   increase  with  civilization^ -' 
But  in  all  commodities  for  which  there  was  a  general 
demand,  and  in  which  it  had  been  possible  for  trusts 
to  assume  a  monopolistic  control  by  reason  of  vast  re 
sources  and  good  management,  the  government  became 
aa  active  competitor. 

Among  the  great  government  industries  against  which 
private  capital  competed,  these  may  be  mentioned: 
Cotton  and  woolen  manufactories,  flour  milling,  stock 
yards,  and  cattle  raising,  the  production  of  standard 
grocery  and  drug  articles,  standard  articles  in  the 
hardware  line,  coal,  coke  and  wood,  lumber,  agricul 
tural  machinery,  planing  mills — in  a  word,  the  govern 
ment  engaged  in  the  production  of  the  actual  necessi 
ties  of  modern  life  and  ignored  the  thousands  of  spe 
cialties  and  luxuries  for  which  the  demand  is  more  or 
less  limited.  But  the  government  made  and  had  on 
sale  enough  of  the  standard  products  of  civilization  to 
support  the  people  independent  of  outside  production, 
and  its  competition  with  private  capital  in  these 
branches  forever  precluded  high  and  exorbitant  prices. 

The  government  extended  its  retail  system  on  the 
same  plan  as  that  pursued  in  the  perfection  of  the  post 
office  system.  Whenever,  in  the  opinion  of  the  depart 
ment,  it  was  advisable  to  locate  a  distributing  retail 


DOWNFALL  OF   THE    MIDDLEMAN  275 

depot  in  any  given  locality,  a  site  was  selected  and  a 
building  purchased  or  erected  of  such  a  capacity  as  the 
present  or  future  needs  of  the  adjacent  district  seemed 
to  warrant.  The  location  of  such  a  depot  would,  of 
course,  threaten  the  supremacy  of  the  local  retailers, 
who  usually  found  it  impossible  to  long  compete  against 
the  government  shops.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  ad 
ministration  to  offer  such  retailers  advantageous  terms 
for  their  stocks  of  goods  on  hand,  a  proposition  which 
was  generally  accepted. 

Thus  the  old-fashioned  retailers  of  meats,  boots  and 
shoes,  dry  goods,  coal  and  wood,  lumber  and  other 
commodities  gradually  disappeared  without  loss  of 
anything  but  his  ujob, "  a  much  kinder  fate  than  that 
which  befell  the  old  stage  drivers  on  the  advent  of  the 
unsympathetic  but  superior  railroad  company.  In  cer 
tain  specialties  the  retailer  survived  and  so  did  the 
wholesaler  and  jobber,  but  as  a  class  the  middleman 
gradually  faded  out  of  existence  and  joined  the  other 
discarded  rubbish  stowed  away  in  Father  Time's  attic. 

The  great  army  of  retailers  easily  accommodated 
themselves  to  the  changed  conditions.  The  more  pro 
gressive  found  profitable  employment  as  heads  of  de 
partments  in  the  government  depots  or  in  the  compet 
ing  stores  of  the  private  industries.  The  poorly  paid 
retail  clerks  were  happily  released  from  a  monotonous 
life  in  a  dreary  store  and  engaged  in  the  higher  activi 
ties  of  the  new  regime.  Their  work  was  more  easy  and 
their  wages  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  support  them 
selves  in  comparative  luxury.  They  were  no  longer  use 
less  adjuncts  to  society,  deriving  a  miserable  existence 
by  filling  a  needless  position.  They  now  formed  a  part 
of  a  perfect  system  of  production  and  distribution. 
They  were  absolutely  independent,  and  at  liberty  at 
any  time  to  retire  from  their  present  occupation  and  de 
vote  their  time  and  energies  in  any  of  the  numberless 
activities  surrounding  them.  The  line  of  promotion  was 
ever  open.  The  retail  clerk  of  to-day  may  be  the  high- 
salaried  head  of  a  vast  department  in  the  coming  dec 
ade. 

The  government  was  a  gigantic  trust,  with  the  people 


276  PRESIDENT  JOHN   SMITH 

as  stockholders.  It  transacted  business  on  a  national 
scale,  manufacturing  to  the  best  possible  advantage. 
The  department  of  mechanics  did  not  attempt  to  locate 
iron  mills  in  New  York  City  or  in  Chicago  when  pro 
duction  could  be  carried  on  more  cheaply  at  points 
nearer  the  mines.  It  did  not  attempt  to  force  anything 
against  natural  surroundings.  It  conducted  the  busi 
ness  affairs  of  the  nation  the  same  as  the  head  of  a 
great  corporation  manages  its  affairs  for  the  benefit  of 
the  stockholders.  Against  this  vast  and  scientific  sys 
tem  of  production  the  small  competing  manufacturer 
who  attempted  to  "go  it  alone"  was  inevitably  forced 
under.  He  was  compelled  either  to  combine  with  other 
manufacturers  and  become  a  stockholder  in  a  compre 
hensive  system  of  production  on  lines  of  scientific  econ 
omy, or  he  had  the  alternative  of  retiring  from  business 
or  of  selling  to  the  government  or  to  any  other  pur 
chaser  In  order  to  do  business  the  private  manufac 
turer  had  to  meet  the  prices  of  the  government.  So 
had  the  great  trust. 

It  was  absolutely  free  competition,  in  which  the  best 
system  or  systems  survived. 

Except  in  specific  and  limited  industries,  the  small 
factory  passed  out  of  national  existence.  There  re 
mained  the  great  private  industries  and  trusts  and  the 
government  industries.  Both  were  supported  by  the 
consumers.  The  government  retailed  through  its  own 
depots  and  distributing  departments.  In  every  city 
these  magnificent  stores  were  established  and  conducted 
on  the  most  perfect  business  systems,  with  every  fea 
ture  reduced  to  an  exact  science,  even  to  a  greater  ex 
tent  than  prevailed  in  the  post-office  departments  of 
former  years.  In  order  to  meet  this  competition  the 
trusts  were  compelled  to  form  a  similar  system.  The 
little  retailer  could  not  compete.  The  government 
would  sell  him  goods  at  the  same  rate  as  that  charged 
against  the  depots,  but  the  margin  was  so  small  that 
living  profits  were  impossible,  Ther^  was  no  jobbing 
trade  and  there  were  no  jobbers  in  the  great  national 
products.  The  government  and  the  trusts  did  their 
own  wholesaling  and  the  private  wholesaler  sold  out  his 


DOWNFALL  OF   THE    MIDDLEMAN  277 

stock  and  retired  from  business.  Such  of  those  mid 
dlemen  as  had  a  competency  retired  and  lived  at  ease. 
Others  connected  themselves  with  the  industries  of  the 
government  or  with  private  interests,  and  the  world 
moved  on  as  though  no  back-street  clerk  had  ever  sold 
5  cents'  worth  of  ribbon  over  a  dusty  old  counter  in  a 
dingy  little  store. 

The  middleman,  who  for  a 'century  had  stood  between 
the  producer  and  the  consumer,  demanding  and  receiv 
ing  his  toll,  had  been  relegated  to  the  past  along  with 
other  forms  of  extortion,  which  the  people  of  former 
years  had  accepted  and  indorsed  on  the  plea  .that  "they 
always  had  existed  and  probably  always  would" — the 
helpless  wail  of  a  man  too  lazy  to  strike  a  blow  at  that 
which  oppresses  him. 

The  consumer  derived  the  greatest  benefit  from  this 
new  system.  All  of  the  people  are  consumers.  They 
profited  by  the  competition  between  the  government 
and  the  trusts.  Prices  ever  tended  to  the  lowest  point 
at  which  the  government  could  manufacture,  handle 
and  distribute  its  products.  The  trusts  sold  at  the 
same  figures,  and  consequently  at  very  slight  margins 
of  profit.  All  of  which  was  to  the  direct  advantage  of 
the  consumer.  It  was  no  longer  possible  for  combina 
tions  of  private  capital  to  monopolize  any  great  indus 
try  and  force  up  prices  at  the  expense  of  the  consumer. 

The  competition  between  the  government  and  its 
powerful  rivals  was  inspiriting.  Compelled  as  they 
were  to  meet  the  prices  fixed  from  time  to  time  by  the 
bureau  of  industry,  the  trusts  and  other  private  inter 
ests  were  forced  to  seek  their  profits  in  superior  skill  in 
manufacturing  and  in  handling.  The  railroad  rates 
were  the  same  to  both  competitors.  It  was  a  contest 
in  which  superiority  of  management, workmanship,  in 
ventive  skill,  and  close  attention  to  detail  was  sure  to 
win.  Skilled  workmen  were  in  great  demand.  They 
transferred  their  allegiance  from  one  shop  to  another 
and  received  wages  in  proportion  to  their  fitness  and 
capacity. 

It  was  impossible  for  the  trusts  to  force  the  average 
scale  down.  The  government  regulated  the  wage  scale. 


278  PRESIDENT  JOHN    SMITH 

It  ever  stood  ready  to  employ  a  capable  workman  at  a 
standard  rate  of  wages  in  keeping  with  his  skill  com 
pared  with  other  workmen.  The  government  had  every 
resource  that  the  trusts  had.  It  was  prepared  to  bid 
against  them  for  talented  managers  of  industry,  and  in 
its  employ  were  many  great  organizers  of  industry  in 
receipt  of  salaries  exceeding  $20,000  a  year.  The  trust 
was,  therefore,  compelled  to  pay  the  same  wages  and  to 
fix  the  same  prices  for  its  products  as  the  government. 
It  had  always  been  claimed  that  private  management 
was  superior  to  that  of  the  government.  The  trusts 
had  an  opportunity  to  prove  this.  Their  profits  rep 
resented  their  exact  superiority  over  the  government, 
but  were  not  increased  either  by  enforced  low  wages 
or  monopoly  prices  for  their  products.  The  commu 
nity,  therefore,  obtained  the  benefit  of  all  the  good 
features  of  combination  and  competition,  without  the 
evils  which  are  ever  resulting  from  monopoly. 

The  rivalry  resulted  in  a  rich  harvest  to  the  inven 
tor.  The  government  was  always  willing  to  purchase  a 
valuable  invention  and  the  trusts  were  ever  prepared  to 
bid  against  it.  The  inventor  therefore  received  the 
full  value  of  his  genius.  Private  capital  was  in  the 
field  to  back  any  promising  new  enterprise  fortified  by 
patents  or  other  privileges,  and  inventors  were  pro 
tected  in  their  rights  by  patent  laws  substantially  the 
same  as  those  of  former  years. 

In  1908  the  number  of  men  employed  in  private  in 
dustries  was  7,638,492,  and  in  government  industries 
5,429,603,  according  to  the  annual  report  of  the  sec 
retary  of  census  and  statistics.  For  a  period  of  twenty 
years  the  government  percentage  gradually  increased 
until  at  present  the  number  is  about  equally  divided. 

In  1907  the  United  States  found  itself  confronted 
by  an  actual  condition  of  overproduction  in  manufac 
tured  goods  of  many  kinds.  The  foreign  markets  had 
been  supplied  and  exchanges  made  until  the  govern 
ment  stores  were  loaded  with  foreign  articles  and  lux 
uries.  In  this  emergency  the  hours  of  labor  were  re 
duced  from  8  to  6  and  some  of  the  surplus  energy  of 
the  nation  diverted  to  great  public  improvements  in 


S 

: 


DOWNFALL   OF   THE   MIDDLEMAN  279 

parks,  public  buildings, and  in  extension  of  the  railway 
system.  In  July  and  August  all  government  workmen 
in  certain  departments  bad  two  months'  vacation  on 
full  pay,  and  in  September  and  October  those  who  had 
not  been  so  favored  took  a  vacation  on  the  same  pleas 
ing  terms.  The  summer  holiday  became  a  regular  fea 
ture  and  was  extended  to  three  months.  This  was  a 
simple  and  by  no  means  disagreeable  way  of  meeting 
what  in  1893  would  have  caused  a  panic.  In  1898  the 
factories  would  have  closed  down,  the  men  would  have 
been  discharged  and  denied  a  chance  to  work,  their 
power  of  purchase  or  consumption  cut  off,  and  the 
country  permitted  to  drag  out  a  miserable,  half-starved 
existence  for  a  period  of  years. 

Occasionally  a  trust  wrould  succumb  to  the  severe 
competition.  Some  found  it  impossible  to  contend  with 
the  national  industry  against  which  it  was  pitted.  In 
such  cases  the  bureau  of  industry  conferred  with  the 
owners  and  purchased  the  competing  plant,  adding  the 
resources  and  equipment  to  the  national  plant,  Such 
cases  were  of  rare  occurrence.  It  was  the  policy  of  the 
government  to  encourage  competition,  and  in  no  in- 
ustry  was  a  monopoly  long  permitted  to  exist. 

It  was  observed  that  in  the  absence  of  competition 
he  efficiency  and  esprit  de  corps  of  the  industry  in 
volved  suffered  from  that  cause.  Between  the  heads 
of  departments  in  trust  and  nation  there  existed  an 
earnest  though  friendly  rivalry.  The  public  kept  a 
close  watch  on  the  dividends  declared  by  private  con 
cerns.  A  large  dividend  paid  by  a  trust  indicated  the 
superiority  of  private  management,  and  its  long  contin 
uance  generally  led  to  an  overhauling  in  the  government 
department  which  suffered  by  comparison. 

Under  such  a  system  there  was  no  chance  for  laziness 
or  incompetency  among  the  workmen  or  of  long-con 
tinued  inefficiency  among  heads  of  departments.  It  was 
the  policy  of  the  bureau  of  industry  to  allow  the  oper 
atives  to  select  foremen  and  superintendents,  provided 
the  popular  choice  was  possessed  of  a  skill  and  manage 
rial  capacity  equal  to  his  popularity.  A  foreman  stood 
in  a  direct  line  of  promotion  to  a  superintendency,  and 


280  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

from  that  to  the  directorship  of  an  industry  or  a  posi 
tion  in  the  presidential  cabinet  as  a  chief  of  the  bureau 
of  industry.  The  workmen  were  always  able  to  secure 
the  dismissal  or  removal  of  an  inefficient  or  unpopular 
foreman.  No  foreman  or  superintendent  was  under  the 
slightest  obligation  to  keep  an  inefficient  or  disorderly 
workman. 

A  discharged  workman  could  be  reinstated, upon  prop 
er  assurances  and  guarantee  of  fair  conduct,  at  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  foreman,  but  a  workman  thus  discharged 
had  no  inalienable  right  to  demand  and  receive  work 
in  that  department.  He  was  at  liberty  to  apply  for 
and  receive  work  in  some  other,  and  probably  less  prof 
itable,  branch  of  work,  or  he  could  leave  the  service  of 
the  government  and  find  work  elsewhere. 

Every  workman  could  not  be  a  foreman  or  superin 
tendent  or  a  chief  of  a  department,  but  there  was  al 
ways  a  chance  of  advancement  to  a  capable  and  faith 
ful  employe.  There  was  none  of  the  slavery  that  some 
alleged  political  economists  had  predicted  would  follow 
the  government  control  of  industry. 

But  the  10,000,000  men  employed  by  the  trusts 
and  the  government  were  but  a  part  of  ,the  forces  of 
production,  and  by  no  means  constituted  the  only  ave 
nues  open  to  employment.  There  were  doctors,  lawyers, 
artists,  newspaper  men,  and  the  thousand  and  one  dev 
otees  to  professions  and  occupations  not  directly  con 
cerned  in  the  general  production  of  a  nation.  The 
peaceful  revolution  had  not  materially  affected  their 
status.  Their  general  prosperity  had  increased  with 
the  prosperity  of  the  nation,  and  in  no  way  had  the  gov 
ernment  abridged  in  the  slightest  degree  the  liberty  of 
any  individual. 

The  press  was  absolutely  untrainmeled  and  at  liberty 
at  any  time  to  attack  the  government  or  any  part  of  it, 
a  liberty  they  took  advantage  of  when  any  responsible 
government  official  allowed  the  work  of  his  department 
to  deteriorate. 

Begging  was  a  lost  art,  and  had  ceased  to  be  profit 
able.  People  had  no  sympathy  for  and  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  able-bodied  mendicants,  and  there  were  plenty 

nf  rmhhV.  n,nrl  nrivfltft  insHtnt.inns  fnr  wnrthv  n,nrl   hfiln- 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE   MIDDLEMAN  281 

In  Chicago,  New  York  and  other  cities  the 
greatest  change  was  in  the  long  streets,  formerly  devoted 
to  hundreds  of  musty  little  retail  shops.  These  had  dis 
appeared,  and  at  intervals  corresponding  to  the  density 
or  character  of  the  adjacent  population  were  the  mag 
nificent  bazaars  of  the  trusts  or  of  the  government.  In 
terspersed  between  these  great  marts  were  the  more 
modest  shops  of  dealers  in  such  specialties  as  art  works 
or  the  product  of  some  industry  which  did  not  enter 
into  general  production.  But  the  endless  string  of  alter 
nating  grocery  stores,  butcher  shops,  drug  stores,  dry- 
goods  stores  and  hardware  stores  had  disappeared. 

There  were  no  long  processions  of  idle  men  with 
banners  demanding  work  and  bread.  There  were  boards 
of  trades,  but  no  maniac,  inspired  by  a  belief  that  such 
institutions  were  impoverishing  the  people,  shot  at  the 
noisy  throngs  of  speculators  and  dealers.  Great  mer 
chants  and  capitalists  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  main 
tain  guards  around  their  private  offices  or  residences  to 
head  off  the  desperate  crank.  There  were  no  meetings 
of  anarchist  groups  to  discuss  bomb-throwing  or  mur 
der.  No  man  had  lost  his  liberty.  The  right  of  a  man 
to  demand  and  always  obtain  employment  had  simply 
been  affirmed  and  carried  out.  With  this  as  a  condi 
tion  there  was  no  longer  any  good  excuse  for  poverty. 

There  were  endless  opportunities  to  acquire  wealth. 
The  annual  productiveness  of  the  nation  had  been  more 
than  doubled.  The  wages  of  the  cheapest  workman 
were  more  than  sufficient  to  support  a  large  family  in 
comfort.  Things  which  would  have  been  deemed  lux 
uries  in  1893  were  in  general  demand.  The  purchasing 
power  of  a  workman  was  enormous  as  compared  with 
the  rate  which  prevailed  in  1893-96.  Careful  estimates 
indicate  that  the  wages  of  the  average  workman  in  1910 
guaranteed  him  a  daily  purchasing  power  of  not  less 
than  $15,  as  measured  by  the  wage  scale  and  prices 
which  prevailed  in  1898.  In  1898  the  workman  pro 
duced  about  $7  a  day  and  received  less  than  $1.50  as 
wages.  In  1910,  measured  by  the  same  standard,  the 
workman  produced  $16  a  day  and  received  not  less  than 
$15  of  it  as  wages.  The  balance  went  either  to  the 

4-  4-  4-        4-\          4-4-  *      -A  j 


CHAPTER  XXL 

NEW   PROBLEMS. 

MUNICIPAL  governments  were  made  to  conform  to  the 
theory  of  the  new  constitution.  Chicago  was  the  first 
city  to  fall  into  line.  By  a  popular  vote  the  people 
overthrew  the  old  city  charter  and  formed  a  municipal 
government  in  which  each  ward  was  represented  by  a 
councilman  whose  powers  were  limited  to  the  transac 
tion  of  routine  work  and  who  could,  at  any  time,  be 
recalled  by  a  vote  of  his  constituents.  The  power  to 
vote  away  the  use  of  streets  and  alleys  to  private  cor 
porations  was  revoked.  The  city  condemned, under  the 
right  of  eminent  domain  delegated  from  the  state,  the 
various  street-car,  cable  and  elevated  railroads  occupy 
ing  the  streets,  and  purchased  the  same  from  their 
former  owners. 

Chicago  voted  for  a  loan  from  the  general  govern 
ment,  and  the  cabinet  authorized  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury  to  advance  to  Chicago  the  sum  of  $6,000,000, 
to  be  expended  in  the  extension  of  the  intramural  rail 
way  system.  In  six  years  Chicago  rede'emed  this  pledge 
from  the  profits  of  the  new  enterprise,  without  raising  a 
dollar  by  taxation.  All  large  expenditures  of  money 
were  submitted  by  the  city  council  to  the  people. 

Having  been  shorn  of  all  opportunity  to  steal,  the 
aldermen  were  honest.  Politics  was  no  longer  a  pro 
fession.  The  heads  of  such  departments  as  the  ele 
vated  railroad  system,  telephone  system,  electric  light 
ing  plant  and  other  public  enterprises  were  elected  for 
long  terms  of  years  and  could  be  removed  during  such 
terms  only  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  people.  The  rates 
of  wages  paid  employes  in  these  concerns  corresponded 
with  those  paid  by  private  concerns  and  in  the  govern 
ment  industries.  There  was  no  wild  scramble  for 
work,  apd  the  position  of  conductor  or  lineman  under 

282 


x  NEW  PROBLEMS  288 

\ 

the^city  administration  VaV  no  more  sought  after  than 
was  an  equally  reinu iterative  and  responsible  position 
in  the  great  wholesale  and  retail  establishment  or  in 
the  shops  of  the  Agricultural  Machinery  Company  of 
America. 

There  was  no  political  patronage,  for  the  reason  that 
the  granting  of  a  "job"  was  no  longer  a  favor.  The 
American  people  had  reached  a  point  when  the  right  to 
work  wras  not  considered  a  rare  privilege.  The  press 
and  the  public  held  tfre  officers  of  the  various  heads  of 
departments  strictly  accountable  for  the  efficiency  of  the 
service  rendered.  If  a  cable  road  broke  down  two  or 
three  times  a  week,  some  official  head  was  sure  to  fall 
in  the  basket.  It  was  not  difficult  to  induce  the  man 
agement  to  heat  the  cars  in  winter  or  to  provide  cars 
enough  for  the  people  in  the  summer.  In  other  respects 
municipal  government  remained  much  the  same  as  in 
other  years,  The  people  always  had  a  chance  to  con 
demn  inefficient  management,  and  a  decided  improve 
ment  in  the  police  force  was  soon  noticed. 

Some  cities  adopted  the  Glasgow  system  and  erected 
municipal  dwelling-houses,  but  the  plan  was  not  gen 
erally  successful,  the  people  preferring  to  erect  their 
own  houses,  a  task  not  difficult  when  steady  work  and 
good  wages  was  assured  A  few  cities  erected  free 
theaters,  but  their  patronage  did  not  much  exceed  that 
of  the  private  theatrical  enterprises.  It  became  the 
settled  policies  of  cities,  as  of  the  government,  to  re 
frain  from  interference  in  those  activities  and  profes 
sions  not  directly  connected  with  the  production  of 
standard  necessities  or  in  the  execution  of  some  public 
function.  The  management  of  street-car  lines  or  of 
any  system  of  intramural  transit  was  of  necessity  a 
monopoly  in  private  hands.  It  remained  a  monopoly 
in  the  hands  of  the  city.  It  could  be  nothing  but  a 
monopoly,  competition  being  impossible.  The  differ 
ence  was  that  the  private  monopoly  was  for  the  benefit 
of  the  few  stockholders  and  the  city  monopoly  was  for 
the  benefit  of  the  entire  public. 

In  a  report  submitted  to  Congress  in  1912,  Secretary 
of  the  Census  Wright  showed  that  the  average  produc- 


284  PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH 

tivity  of  the  individual  was  more  than  three  times  that 
of  the  year  1894.  He  ascribed  this  wonderful  increase 
to  the  following  reasons: 

"1.  Increased  opportunity  for  profitable  and  steady 
employment. 

"2.  The  decided  reduction  in  the  percentage  of  the 
indefinite  and  non-productive  class. 

"3.  An  improvement  in  and  a  systematizing  of  the 
methods  of  production. 

"4.  Decreased  losses  from  the  *vaste  which  formerly 
resulted  from  overproduction  during  the  periods  of  de 
pression  and  crippled  consuming  power  which  followed." 

In  his  report  Secretary  Wright  said: 

"From  1890  to  1896  not  more  than  one-half  of  the 
workmen  of  the  United  States  were  steadily  employed. 
There  were  more  non-producers,  middlemen,  and  hand 
lers  and  exchangers  of  products  than  there  were  pro 
ducers.  It  cost  the  nation  more  to  sell  and  protect  its 
products  than  to  pay  its  workmen.  Every  dollar  taken 
by  the  middlemen  was  deducted  from  the  share  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  divided  between  the  capital 
ists  and  the  workmen.  In  1893  the  numbers  of  the 
middlemen  exceeded  those  of  the  combined  industrial, 
commercial,  professional  and  independent  class,  and 
were  exceeded  in  numerical  strength  only  by  the  agri 
cultural  class,  upon  whose  resources  and  products  they 
levied  a  heavy  tax.  In  1893  not  less  than  40  per  cent 
of  the  income-receiving  people  of  the  country  were  non- 
producers.  In  1904  the  percentage  of  non-producers 
was  28.  Four  years  later  it  had  decreased  to  19,  and  in 
1912  less  than  10  per  cent  of  the  income-receiving  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  were  employed  in  the  hand 
ling,  storing,  distributing  and  manipulation  of  the  pro 
ducts  of  industry. 

"With  the  perfection  of  the  system  now  in  use  by 
the  great  private  industries — copied  to  some  extent 
from  that  of  the  government — I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
in  a  few  years  not  to  exceed  5  per  cent  of  the  workmen 
of  the  country  will  be  required  in  that  necessary  work 
which  comes  under  the  classification  of  unproductive. 

"The  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  once  engaged  in 
unnecessarv  work  have  been  forced  into  the  ranks  of 


NEW  PROBLEMS  285 

the  producers.  Every  man  thus  transferred  has  not 
only  taken  a  load  from  the  backs  of  capital  and  labor, 
but  has  also  added  another  unit  to  the  total  industrial 
force  of  the  country.  This  gradual  diminution  of  the 
ranks  of  the  non-producer  has  not  been  made  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  complicated  machinery  of  distribution  and 
exchange.  On  the  contrary,  the  work  of  that  impor 
tant  department,  both  in  public  and  private  industry, 
has  been  made  more  perfect  from  year  to  year. 

"In  1894-96  each  workman  was  compelled  to  support 
himself,  another  idle  workman,  and  two  non-producers. 

"To-day  a  workman  receives  the  total  sum  of  his 
products  after  there  has  been  deducted  less  than  10  per 
cent  as  the  necessary  expense  of  transmitting,  storing, 
selling  and  delivering. 

"In  other  words,  in  1894-96  the  workman  received  less 
than  25  per  cent  of  what  his  labor  had  added  to  raw 
material,  and  to-day  he  receives  over  90  per  cent.  His 
average  productivity  has  also  been  enormously  increased 
by  improvements  in  methods  of  production  and  ma 
chinery,  all  of  which  has  gone  to  him  after  the  deduc 
tion  of  a  fair  percentage  to  private  capital,  to  the  gov 
ernment,  and  the  rewards  of  inventive  genius  and  su 
perior  management.  "v 

Among  the  employments  which  had  disappeared,  or 
in  which  but  few  representatives  yet  remained,  were 
those  of  the  commercial  traveler  or  drummer,  insur 
ance  agents,  solicitors,  officials,  clerks,  etc.,  book  agents, 
and  agents  of  100  other  kinds.  In  1898  there  were 
800,000  commercial  travelers  traversing  the  country  at 
an  enormous  expenditure  of  money  and  energy,  and 
engaged  in  the  task  of  convincing  the  retailer  of  the 
superiority  of  a  certain  manufacture  of  goods.  In  1904 
both  the  drummer  and  his  former  customer,  the  re 
tailer,  had  disappeared.  Three  hundred  thousand 
good-looking  and  bright  men  were  devoting  their  time 
and  energies  to  other  and  more  productive  work  at 
much  higher  wages,  and  2,500,000  retailers  had  disap 
peared  as  retailers  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  One 
clerk  in  one  of  the  great  retail  departments,  aided  by 
one  delivery  man,  easily  did  the  work  formerly  done 


286  PRESIDENT   JOHN    SMITH 

The  government  and  private  retail  establishments 
had  certain  delivery  routes  and  certain  times  for  the 
distribution  of  articles, the  same  as  in  former  years  was 
the  practice  with  the  delivery  of  postal  matter  and  in 
the  handling  of  an  immense  business  by  the  great  ex 
press  companies. 

It  appears  almost  incredible  now  that  a  time  ever 
existed  when  forty  or  fifty  rival  grocery  wagons,  from 
forty  or  fifty  different  parts  of  the  town  or  city,  each 
delivered  small  quantities  of  goods  in  the  same  block. 
This  was  called  competition  in  those  days,  and  the  peo 
ple  paid  the  wages  of  the  fort}T-eight  superfluous  de 
livery  men,  the  feed  bills  of  the  forty-eight  superflu 
ous  horses,  the  wages  of  the  forty-eight  superfluous 
grocery  or  butcher  clerks,  and  the  profits  of  the  forty- 
eight  superfluous  retailers,  and  protested  against  any 
system  which  would  do  away  with  any  one  of  them. 

The  government  did  an  insurance  business  and  paid 
all  losses  incurred.  There  was  no  incentive  to  incen 
diarism,  for  the  reason  that  the  government  stood  ready 
to  purchase  any  property  at  as  high  a  figure  as  it  would 
place  insurance.  In  1893  thousands  and  thousands  of 
men  and  millions  of  dollars  in  money  were  wasted  in 
insurance  business.  Banking  was  engaged  in  both  by 
the  government  and  by  private  capital,  but  the  rates  of 
interest  were  so  low  and  the  demand  for  money  so 
slight  that  the  business  was  not  a  profitable  one  for 
private  capital.  The  government  was  ready  to  advance 
money  with  land  or  unimpaired  improved  property  as 
security. 

For  the  first  time  in  American  history  farming  be 
came  generally  profitable.  In  preceding  years  the 
farmer  had  managed  to  live  until  the  mortgage  on  his 
farm  was  foreclosed,  when  he  became  a  tenant  farmer, 
a  tramp,  or  an  unemployed  workman  in  a  great  city. 
The  stunted  production  and  wage  fund  of  1870-9(5  made 
the  farmer  dependent  on  the  European  market  for  the 
sale  of  the  surplus  which  hungry  Americans  could  not 
buy,  and  the  price  was  also  fixed  by  that  same  foreign 
market.  Lack  of  profits  deprived  him  of  the  superb 
machinery  stored  in  deserted  factories,  and  lack  of 
nrofitfl  nrevanted  him  from  heiner  a  rmrchasm'  in  the 


NEW    PROBLEMS  287 

marts  of  industry.  In  the  stimuulated  industrial  era 
which  began  under  President  Smith  the  consumption 
of  farm  products  was  doubled  in  twelve  months.  Wheat 
jumped  from  43  cents  per  bushel  to  $1.17.  Railroad 
rates,under  the  management  of  Chief  Jeff ery, decreased. 
The  government  ever  stood  ready  to  'purchase  wheat 
and  grains  at  the  quoted  market  price,  which  rose 
and  fell  slowly  from  supply  and  demand,  and  not 
from  the  manipulation  of  board  of  trade  operators  and 
gamblers.  Secretary  Moulton  established  in  several 
states  model  farms  of  from  6,000  to  20,000  acres  of 
land,  some  of  which  were  purchased  and  some  forfeited 
by  speculative  holders.  Every  modern  improvement 
was  employed  and  the  experiment  was  a  success.  As  a 
result  of  this,  co-operative  farming  became  a  feature 
throughout  the  west  and  south  and  in  many  parts  of 
the  east.  A  score  or  more  of  farmers  would  combine 
their  acreage  and  form  a  stock  company.  In  some 
cases  a  small  village  would  be  located  near  the  center 
of  the  co-operative  farm,  and  the  advantages  of  closer 
associations  profited  by.  These  farming  companies 
were  enabled  to  purchase  and  employ  every  labor-saving 
device  known  to  invention,  and  farming  became  profit 
able  with  the  advance  of  civilization,  instead  of  steadily 
retrograding  as  in  the  past. 

An  event  of  great  importance  to  the  United  States 
marked  the  present  year.  At  an  international  mone 
tary  congress  held  in  Paris  the  currency  of  the  United 
States  was  accepted  by  the  great  nations  of  Europe  as 
an  international  standard  of  value.  The  fluctuations 
of  silver  had  been  so  marked  and  its  decline  so  inevi 
table  that  it  was  as  valueless  as  gold  as  a  standard. 
The  paper  American  dollar, based  on  labor  and  secured 
by  the  inexhaustible  stores  of  wealth  of  a  continent, 
was  unanimously  adopted  as  a  standard  by  which  all 
Values  could  be  measured.  Based  on  the  average  pro 
ductivity  of  labor,  ever  exchangeable  in  the  United 
States  for  not  less  than  95  per  cent  of  the  products  of 
one  hour's  labor,  backed  by  a  nation  of  100,000,000 
people  with  an  ever  increasing  wealth,  it  formed  the 
ideal  of  an  "honest  dollar." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  PAST    AND    THE    PRESENT. 

IT  is  difficult  in  this  year  of  our  Lord  1920  to  account 
for  the  toleration  of  abuses  which  distinguished  the 
American  people  in  1893.  The  American  of  to-day  is 
jealous  of  his  rights.  He  considers  himself  a  part  of 
the  government.  There  is  nothing  shadowy  or  unsub 
stantial  about  his  citizenship.  He  makes  ai^  unmakes 
laws;  elects  and  deposes  public  officials;  is  an  equal 
factor  with  any  other  man  in  the  deciding  of  the  affairs 
of  the  nation,  state,  county,  township  or  municipality. 
He  is  not  ruled,  he  rules.  He  is  the  government.  He 
is  the  state. 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  of  modern  historians 
which  the  author  must  condemn, to  ridicule,  denounce 
and  hold  up  to  contempt  the  paople  of  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  They  were  not  cowards, 
as  has  been  alleged  by  some.  They  were  not  fools,  as 
has  been  allegad  by  certain  writers  who  were  at  that 
time  too  young  to  analyze  the  conditions  which  pre 
vailed,  The  crime  of  the  nation  in  those  years  was 
superstition- — and  national  superstition  is  a  national 
crime. 

Their  politicians,  preachers,  writers  and  schoolteach 
ers  taught  superstition  and  labeled  it  patriotism.  That 
splendid  word  patriotism  came  to  mean  bigoted,  parti 
san,  class  and  caste  ignorance  and  superstition,  It  was 
taught  in  the  public  schools,  The  half-starved  children 
of  idle  mechanics  were  taught  to  believe  that  their 
country  was  the  greatest  and  wisast  governed  country 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  home  of  liberty,  and  a  ref 
uge  for  the  oppressed  of  all  nations.  Intelligent 
foreigners  came  from  monarchical  countries,  visited 
America,  and  went  back  across  the  Atlantic  amazed, 
astounded  and  discouraged.  But  the  American  people 

288 


THE  PAST  AND  THE  PRESENT  289 

firmly  believed  the  fairy  tale  of  their  freedom.  Hungry 
workmen  year  after  year  drank  in  the  lies  of  demagogues 
and  ignorant  but  cunning  politicians.  They  were  ready 
to  accept  any  excuse  for  their  poverty,  and  with  child 
like  faith  grasped  at  the  delusive  phantom  of  hope  held 
out  before  them.  They  rallied  at  the  polls,  elected  men, 
and  men,  and  men,  and  were  robbed,  and  robbed,  and 
robbed.  And  into  their  ears  the  public  teachers  were 
pouring  patriotism,  preaching  the  infallibility  of  a 
government,  constitution  and  laws  which  were  defraud 
ing  and  impoverishing  the  very  men  who  were  preach 
ing  patriotism  and  superstition.  Bankrupt  merchants, 
crippled  capitalists,  idle  and  despondent  workmen,  be 
draggled  and  forlorn  in  the  financial  storm  sweeping 
over  them,  would  cursa  the  reformer  who  told  them  to 
come  in  out  of  the  wet,  The  curse  was  the  curse  of 
time.  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  was  110 
years  old.  Therefore  it  was  something  to  venerate,  to 
worship,  to  scare  little  children  with.  If  it  had  been 
but  ten,  or  twenty,  or  thirty  years  old,  it  would  not 
have  survived  the  first  week  of  a  panic,  but  would  have 
been  cast  aside  by  a  disgusted  and  defrauded  people. 
hag  anjaan  e  n  d  e  ooy  over  the  under  standing; 


^ 

says  the  philosopher  WatTsi  ^aiTT^iToTFel^great  tHm'ker" 
has  declared  that  in  the  great  majority  of  things  habit 
is  a  greater  plague  than  ever  afflicted  Egypt.  The  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  proved  -this  in  the  years  they 
submitted  to  the  rule,  of  the  constitutional  antiquity 
handed  down  from  the  little  monarchical  colonies  which 
a  hundred  years  before  lined  the  Atlantic  coast.  John 
Smith  punctured  that  aged  enemy  of  the  people,  and 
the  bubble  of  superstition  broke  and  at  the  same  time 
the  film  came  from  the  eyes  of  the  people.  Progress  has 
no  greater  foe  than  precedent;  no  grander  champion 
than  a  true  hater  of  superstition,  The  path  of  progress 
is  strewn  with  broken  precedents,  and  over  the  shat 
tered  traditions  of  a  majority-fearing  constitution  a 
free  people  planted  a  milestone  in  history  and  on  it  in 
scribed  these  words: 

44The   rights    of   the   majority  of  a  people  shall    no 
longer  be  abridged." 


To  THE  READER: 

We  have  taken  this  method  of  pointing  out  some  of 
the  glaring  defects  of  our  social,  industrial  and  govern 
mental  system.  Until  a  remedy  is  found  and  enacted 
into  legislation  there  can  be  no  prosperity  for  the  Ame 
rican  people.  Legislation  can  rise  no  higher  than  its 
fountain  source— the  average  intelligence  of  the  people. 
No  effort  of  any  individual  to  contribute  to  the  enlight 
enment  of  the  voter  on  these  questions,  is  lost. 

Looking  at  it  from  the  purely  selfish  standpoint  of  the 
man  who  never  spends  a  dollar  without  expectation  of  fi 
nancial  returns,  how  can  a  small  amount  be  better  ex 
pended  than  in  a  practical  attempt  to  revise  an  industrial 
system,  which  has  already  impoverished  the  great  mass 
of  our  people,  and  which,  if  perpetuated,  will  inevitably 
reduce  our  middle  classes  to  absolute  dependency  and 
slavery  ? 

It  is  not  going  to  take  years  to  accomplish  these  re 
forms.  If  every  man  who  reads  this  book,  and  who  be 
lieves  that  it  contains  the  essence  of  great  truths  will 
do  his  duty  to  himself,  his  children  and  to  his  country, 
the  dawn  of  the  new  century  will  usher  in  the  reign  of  a 
grander  and  nobler  republic.  Help  us  to  make  men 
think.  Help  us  to  make  American  citizenship  something 
to  be  proud  of. 

The  fund  for  the  free  distribution  of  ''President  John 
Smith1'  was  started  by  Thomas  Lowdermilk  of  South 
Greenfield,  Missouri.  He  believed  with  hundreds  of 
others  that  it  should  be  read  by  every  American  voter. 
He  contributed  ten  dollars  for  that  purpose,  and  ten  dol 
lars  was  more  to  him  than  ten  millions  to  some  men  who 
never  did  an  honest  day's  work  in  their  lives.  The  au 
thor,  Mr.  Frederick  U.  Adams,  contributed  $100  more 


and  instructed  his  publishers  to  reduce  the  selling  price 
from  25  cents  to  the  actual  cost  of  printing,  binding, 
mailing,  postage,  office  and  clerical  expenses.  This 
amounts  to  a  fraction  over  nine  cents  and  the  price  has 
been  fixed  at  ten  cents  a  copy.  Whatever  of  profit  re 
mains  will  be  devoted  to  the  general  circulation  of  this 
book  and  other  literature  along  similar  lines. 

If  you  are  not  financially  able  to  extend  the  circulation 
of  this  book,  help  us  by  giving  it  to  some  friend  and  tell 
him  in  turn  to  pass  it  along. 

If  you  are  able  and  willing  to  place  "President  John 
Smith"  in  the  hands  of  the  voters,  do  so.  Decide  for 
yourself  how  much  your  contribution  should  be.  This  is 
a  voluntary  work.  Every  man  should  be  his  own  judge 
in  this  matter.  Here  is  our  plan  of  action. 

Every  man  or  woman  who  desires  to  help  in  the  circu 
lation  of  "President  John  Smith'1  should  first  make  out  a 
list  of  names,  being  careful  to  give  in  each  address  the 
town,  county  and  state.  He  should  then  mark  with  a 
cross  all  those  to  whom  he  desires  to  present  a  copy  of 
the  book  and  forward  ten  cents  for  every  such  name. 
The  Majority  Rule  Club  will  attempt  to  supply  the 
others  from  its  reserve  fund. 

In  case  any  subscriber  to  this  fund  sends  more  money 
than  the  ratio  of  names,  or  in  case  he  forwards  the  names 
of  those  who  have  already  received  the  book,  the  Majority 
Rule  Club  will  mail  the  purchased  books  to  other  addres 
ses,  and  supply  an  accurate  list  of  the  same  to  the  donor. 

To  those  desiring  a  large  number  of  books  for  personal 
distribution,  or  to  clubs  and  various  organizations,  we  can 
send  the  books  by  freight  and  save  a  large  part  of  the  item 
of  postage.  On  such  orders  we  can  make  a  rate  of  six  and  a 
half  cents  for  each  book,  the  freight  to  be  paid  by  the  pur 
chaser,  the  packages  being  forwardod  C.  0.  D.  Here  is  a 


table  of  rates  and  estimated  weights  of  books  and  packing 

CaS6S:  PRICE.  WEIGHT. 

100  books'    ....    $6.50  40  Ibs. 

250     "       ....        16.25  95    " 

500    "          ....    32.50  200    " 

1,000     "      ....        65.00  400    " 

1,540    "          ....  100.00  600    " 

This  is  certainly  the  most  remarkable  offer  ever  made 
for  a  book  and  cannot  be  construed  as  a  money  making 
venture.  So  long  as  space  will  permit  a  record  of  all  con 
tributions  will  be  published  monthly  in  The  New  Time,  a 
magazine  of  social  progress,  published  in  Chicago  and 
edited  by  B.  0.  Flower,  the  founder  of  Arena,  and  Fred 
erick  Upham  Adams,  author  of  "President  John  Smith" 
and  editor  of  New  Occasions,  which  has  been  consoli 
dated  with  "The  New  Time." 

Kindly  consider  the  feasibility  of  forming  a  Majority 
Rule  or  Direct  Legislation  Club  in  your  vicinity.  The 
time  is  ripe  for  such  a  movement  and  it  must  be  done 
through  organization^.  The  author  of  "President  John 
Smith"  has  no  ambition  to  lead  any  such  movement,  and 
subscribes  himself  a  volunteer  in  the  ranks. 

Address  all  communications  to 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY, 
or  to 

FREDERICK  UPHAM  ADAMS, 

56  Fifth  Ave.,  Chicago,  III. 


To  THE  READER: 

Are  you  in  favor  of  Majority  Rule?  Do  you  believe 
that  it  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  become  an  issue  in 
1900?  Do  you  believe  that  any  reform  can  be  carried 
into  execution  by  the  majority  so  long  as  the  minority  is 
in  control? 

Kindly  consider  the  feasibility  of  forming  a  Majority 
Rule  Club  in  your  vicinity.  The  author  has  no  ambition 
to  lead  any  such  movement,  and  subscribes  himself  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  ranks.  But  he  is  desirous  of  giving  this 
and  other  books  on  the  same  subject  a  wide  circulation, 
and  would  esteem  it  a  favor  if  the  reader  will  forward  his 
name,  with  those  of  friends  who  maybe  interested  in  the 
reform  movement.  We  must  help  one  another,  and  by 
granting  this  favor  you  may  materially  advance  a  move 
ment  which  is  certain  to  succeed  at  no  far  distant  day. 
Without  education  there  can  be  no  progress.  If  you  re 
gard  the  suggestions  made  in  "  President  John  Smith"  as 
tending  in  the  right  direction,  kindly  drop  me  a  line  and 
enclose  the  names  of  those  you  would  like  to  have  read 
this  book. 

Sincerely  yours, 

FREDERICK  U.  ADAMS. 
56  Fifth  Ave.,   Chicago. 


IF    YOU    LIKE. 

President  John  Smith 


YOU  WILL  LIKE 


THE  NEW  TIME 


Frederick  U.  Adams  is  one  of  the  editors  of  this  great 
reform  magazine,  and  writes  exclusively  for  it.  The  best 
reform  magazine  in  the  world  for  one  dollar  a  year.  Read 
announcement  on  last  page  of  cover. 


Cut  out  the  following  and  forward  it  with  a  year's  sub 
scription: 

CHILES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY, 

56  Fifth  Avenue,  Chicago: 
Enclosed  find  One  Dollar,  for  which  please  send  The 

New  Time  for  one  year,  beginning  with 

number. 

Address,  ZM 

No : Street, 

Postofflce State 


WH.THER    ARE    WE    DRIFTING? 


A    Bjok    of    Over    Seve-.i    Hundred    Pauvs    Oovoted 

to    tf.e     Discusshm    of     fcJconomic 

Questions. 


Tills     Boon      Handles     In    ati     .Vble     .Ulan^T     the      Various 

J'oliffea!      INMIIP*     Irc      \Vh!ch      tli«      People 

Arc    Interested. 


The   silver    question;    transportation    in  all    its  varied 
relations;  municipal  ownership;  trusts;  labor;    land 
and   taxation    are  all  subjects  of  interest  and  in 
no  other    work    so    ably   treated    or    so    thor 
oughly  discussed. 

That  there  is  something    radically    wrong    somewhere, 

§all  admit,  and    everyone    who  reads  this    book  says 
that  it  contains  more  that  is  calculated  to  show 
where   that   wrong    is,    than    is    contained  in 
any  other  book  ever  written. 

It  is  jiot  the  advocate  of    any  existing  political    organ 
ization,  but    treats   economic    questions    in  a  broad 
and    comprehensive    manner.    '•  No    other    work 
published    is    so    intensely    pleasing  in  style, 
vigorous   in   presentation    and    thoroughly 

convincing  on  every  point  discussed. 
Every  voter,  to  be  well  posted  on  the  living  questions 
of  the  hour,  should  read  "Whither  Are  We  Drifting 
as   a   Nation?"    by    Freeman,  O.   Willey.      Price, 
single    copy    by    mail,     paper    edition,     fifty 
cents,   cloth,  $1.00. 

Canvassers    find    it  a  splendid  book    to    sell     and    the 
most    liberal    terms    are  given   agents.      Address 

W.  L.  RAYNOLDS, 

267  S.   Lincoln  St  ,   Chicago,   111. 


A   VALUABLE    WORK. 

Wiii   Be  Appreciated   by   Every  Intel 
ligent  Voter. 


TIE3::E 


"National  Platforms  and  Political  History  of  the 
United  States"  is  a  complete  handbook  of  American 
politics,  compiled  and  edited  by  L.  D.  Raynolds.  it 
is  authentic  and  every  edition  is  brought  up  to  date. 

This  work  contains  all  the  platforms  of  ail  the 
political  parries  in  the  United  States,  from  the  earliest 
history  of  the  nation  to  the  latest  national  convention. 

It  gives  a  complete  nonpartisan  view  of  the  polit 
ical  field  from  1776  down  to  the  present;  a  brief 
history  of  every  campaign,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
government;  all  the  candidates  in  every  national  con 
test;  the  electoral  vote;  the  popular  vote;  cabinet 
officers  of  every  administration,  and  a  brief  review  of 
the  principal  political  events  of  our  national  history. 

Along  with  all  the  national  platforms  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  government,  it  contains  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence,  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  a  fund  of  historical  facts  found 
nowhere  else  in  so  complete  and  condensed  form 

Every  voter  is  interested  in  the  political  history 
of  his  country  and  this  book  contains  just  what  he 
wants  to  learn.  Speakers  and  debaters  of  ail  parties 
need  it;  voters  of  all  parties  should  read  it;  no  man 
can  be  well  posted  without  it.  A  book  of  148  pages. 
Ask  your  newsdealer  for  it.  Price  25  cents.  //  sell  at 
sight,  for  everybody  wants  it.  Remember  the  title — 
"National  Platforms  and  Political  History" — by  L.  D. 
Raynolds. 

Agents  are  makfng  money  with  tlrs  book  Can 
vassers  wanted.  Orders  by  mail  filled  promptlv  where 
the  book  is  not  or-  sale  by  local  dealers 

W.   L.   RAYNOLDS.    Publish.  .. 

267  S.   Lincolr,  Si  .  Chic  ;  •  ,   111 


FOR  N'AJLK  BY 
W.   L,.   Rayuolds,    267    South    Li    c<»  n    Street,    Chicago,    111. 


PRICE    BY    MAIL    POSTPAID. 

Banking  Systems  OL  ;  u- Wo*  id.      William  M.  Handy.    Cloth,  $1.00 

American  People's  Money.     Donnelly.     Paper,  .35 

A  Better   Financial   System.     Ward.  .35 

Battle  of   the  Standards.     Teller,  .35 

Bad  Bo     and   His  Pa.     Stockwell,  .10 

Points  for  Thinkers.  .10 

Coin's  Handbook  of   Finance.    Harvey,  .10 

Coin's  Financial   School.  .35 

Condensed  Political   History.    Prof.  Thomas  E.   Hill,  .35 

Cold  Facts.     Casca   St.    John  Cole,  .10 
Government  Ownership  of  Railroads  and  Telegranhs.     Loucks,    .35 

Financial  Caiechism.     Brice,  .50 

Imperialism   in   America.     Mrs.   E.   V.   Emery,  .10 

Honest  John   Sherman.     Mrs.   Marion  Todd,  .10 

Still  the   World    Goes   On.    S.    F.   Norton,  .35 

Money  Found.     Prof.    Thomas  E.   Hill,  .35 

Money  Chart      Marvin    Warren,  .35 

President  John    Smith.     Adams,  ,35 

Tale  of  Two   N  tions      Harvey,  .35 

New  Mone'.ary    Sv^tem.     Loucks,  .35 

Seven  Financial    C-m  piracies.    Mrs    E.  V.   Emery,  .10 

Rachel's  Pitiful    History.     Mrs.    Marion  Todd,  .10 

The   People  or   the    Politician?   by  R.   L.   Taylor,  .10 

Merrie  England.     A   plain   exposition   of  Socialism,  .10 

Great  Debate      Harvey-Horr,  .50 

Railroad  Question,    by   ex-Governor   Larrabee  of  Iowa,  .50 

Railways  of  Europe    and  America.     Mrs.    Marion  Todd,  .50 

Money  War.-.     A    compendium   of  financial  laws.     Leavitt,  .50 

Looking  Backward.     Edward   Bellamy,  .50 

Bond  Holders  and    Bread   Winners,    by  S.   S.   Kin-,  .25 
Shylock's  Daughter.      Political  novel.     Margaret  Holmes  Bates,  .35 

A  S'ory  Froai   Pullmantown,    by   Nico  B  ch   Meyer,  .25 

In  Office.    A  story  of    Washington  life.  .25 

Ceasar's  Column,     Ignatius    Donnelly's  greatest  work,  .50 

The  American  Peasant,    by    T.    H.   Tibbies,  .35 

Bimetallism  and   Monometallism.     Archbishop  Walsh,  .25 

Political  Earthquake.     A  political  novel,  by  L.  A.  Stockwell,  .25 

A  Tramp  in  Society.     W.   H.    rowdry,  .25 

From  Sea  to  Sea,   by    C.    C.    Post,  .50 

The  Modern   Banker,   by   James   B.   Goode,  .25 

Speech  of  Senator  Jo  tes,  delivered  in  U.  S  Senate  May  12,  1890,  .10 

Gold  and  Silver  Coinage    of  the    United  States,  .25 

Direct  Legislation,    by  J.    W.    Sullivan,  .10 

Single  Tax  Delusion.     Criticism  of  Henry  George.     Parker,  .10 

D  >ctor  Huguet      Donnelly.  .50 

The   Banker's   Dream,    by   Thomas    H     Proctor,  .25 

The   Little   Statesman.     (F.    J.    Schulte.)  .25 

Scientific  Money,   by  James   Taylor  Rogers,  .10 

Ruins   of   Empires.     Volney,  .35 

» Wealth  Against  Commonwealth.     Lloyd.     Paper,  $1.00;  cloth,     3.50 
The  above  is  only  a  partial  list  of  reform  books  carried  in  stock. 
We  furnish  any  book  published. 

See  catalogue  of  OUR  OWN  publications  which  embrace  the 
If-ading  and  best  selling  works.  Agents  wanted.  W.  L.  Raynolds, 
Publisher,  267  South  Lincoln  Street,  Chlcacro,  111. 


CATALOGUE  OF  REFORM  BOOKS 


Publi-su^'l    by    W.   L.    liiyi*  >hl«,  267   South    Lincoln 
Sm-et.  Chicago,  111, 

THE  DOGS  AND  THE  FLEAS,  a  keen  satire  on 
existing  systems.  (Douglas  McCallum).  Paper,  .50 

WHITHER  ARE  WE  DRIFTING  AS  A 
NATION?  by  Freeman  O.  Willey;  a  profound 
work  on  economic  questions;  seven  hundred 
pages;  in  durable  paper  covers,  50  cents;  cloth,  i.oo 

AN  IDEAL  REPUBLIC,  a  vigorous  political 
story;  400  pages.  Paper,  50  cents;  cloth,  i.oo 

LABOR  AND  FINANCE  REVOLUTION.     B.  S. 

Heath.     A  classic  in  reform  literature.     Paper,      .50 

NATIONAL  PLATFORMS  AND  POLITICAL 
HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  by 
L.  D.  Raynolds.  Contains  all  the  platforms  of 
all  the  parties,  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest, 
and  a  political  history  of  every  administration. 
Nonpartisan  and  sells  to  everybody.  .25 

THE  NATION'S  MONEY.  Geo.  C.  Hackstaff. 
A  critical  review  of  our  financial  system.  .25 

STORY  OF  THE  BUTTONS;  OR,  THE  MAN 
WHO  OWNED  THE  EARTH.  Chittenden.  .10 

PERILS  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.     Clark  Ervin.        .10 
FIAT  MONEY.     A  discussion.     C.   F.  Sherman.       .15 

COINS    AND    CURRENCY.     C.  B.  Fenton.      A 
handbook  of    finance  with  quotations  from  lead 
ing  men  of  all  parties^  .25 
BREAKERS  AHEAD,  by  Edward  Irving.                  .10 
RICHARD'S    CROWN,    a    powerful   presentation 
of  the  money  question,   by  Anna  D.  Weaver.           .25 

WELFARE  PROBLEM  SOLVED.     L.  Connell.     .25 
PEOPLE'S  SONGSTER.     C.  S.   White.  .10 

TEN  MEN  OF  MONEY  ISLAND.      Norton.  .10 

Address    all    orders   to    W.    L.    RAYNOLDS,. 

267  South  Lincoln  Street,   Chicago,   111. 


GIVE    COPIES    OF 

PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH 

TO  YOUR  FRIENDS. 
For  10  cents  you  can  add  a  new  name  to  the  mnks  of  reform. 


Fill  out  this  blank  with  the  names  of  those  you  desire 
shall  read  President  John  Smith,  and  forward  ten  cents  for 
each  name: 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY, 

56  Fifth  Avenue,  Chicago  : 

Enclosed  find for 

which  please  send  copies  of  President  John  Smith  to  the 

following  persons : 

Signed 

Address 


POSTOFFICE 


(OVER) 


POSTOFFICE 


CALL  ON  YOUR  NEWSDEALER 

AND  ASK  HIM   IF  HE  KEEPS 

The  New  Time, 


THE  BEST  REFORM  MAGAZINE  IN  THE  WORLD 


FREDERICK  U.  ADAMS    t  Fditnr<5 
B.  O.  FLOWER  P 


Eighty  pages  of  splendid  reform  matter,  finely  illus 
trated,  each  month,  for  one  dollar  a  year.  Send  six  cents 
in  stamps  for  sample  copy. 

Better  yet,  cut  out  the  following,  and  forward  it  with 
a  year's  subscription  : 

CHILES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY, 

156  Fifth  ^Avenue,  Chicago: 
Enclosed  find  One  Dollar,  for  which  please  send  The 

New  Time  for  one  year,  beginning  with 

number. 

b     Address,  £M 
No Street, 

Postofficc—         State 


HISTORY  OF 


Monetary  Systems 

B.  O.  369- A.  D.  1895. 

As  Drawn  from  their  Laws,  Treaties,  Mint  Codes,  Coins,  Archae 
ological  Remains,  and  other  Authentic  Sources. 

Bu  flLEXftNDER  DEL  MflR,  M.  E. 


PRESS    OPINIONS: 

He  who  masters  Mr.  Del  Mar's  book  will  know 
more  of  monetary  systems  than  999  men  out  of  a 
thousand. — Financial  News,  London,  May  25,  1895. 

As  an  authority  on  Monetary  Systems  this 
work  deserves  to  rank  high.  It  is  in  fact  an  en 
cyclopaedia  on  the  subject,  and  no  one  who  is 
making  a  study  of  this  important  matter  can  afford 
to  be  without  it. — New  York  Herald,  June  2,  1895. 

Mr.  Del  Mar  ranks  high  as  a  student  and  is  one 
of  the  ablest  writers  on  money.  His  work  is  full  of 
exact  facts  eminently  pertinent  to  the  discussion  now 
in  progress.  —  Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  May  25,  1895. 

Alexander  Del  Mar,  the  authority  on  precious 
metals  and  their  history  as  money,  has  published 
in  this  country  the  history  of  monetary  systems 
which  he  published  about  a  year  ago  in  England. 
It  is  a  critical  and  complete  record  of  actual  exper 
iments  in  money  made  by  the  various  States  of  the 
ancient  and  modern  world.  This  work  is  of  great 
importance,  especially  at  this  time,  and  its  recep 
tion  in  this  country  will  doubtless  be  as  warm  as 
its  welcome  was  in  England,  since  Mr.  Del  Mar 
has  long  been  an  American  of  great  prominence  in 
this  field  of  thought.  The  work  is  especially 
adapted  to  the  need  of  the  American  people  at  this 
day.  — Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

444  large  pages,  complete  index.  Beautifully  printed  and 
well  bound.  Sent,  expressage  prepaid,  to  any  address  in 
the  United  States  on  receipt  of  $2.0O,  and  as  the  Denver 
News  remarks,  it  is  well  worth  that  sum. 

Catalogue  of  other  books  mailed  free. 

Charles  H,  Kerr  &  Company,  Publishers,  56  Fifth  Ave,,  Chicago 


A  Classified  List  of 

BOOKS  OF  SOCIAL  PROGRESS 

AND  A  FEW  OTHER  BOOKS 


BOOKS  ON  FINANCE 

History  of  Monetary  Systems  in  the  various 
States  of  the  World,  B.  C.  369— A.  D.  1895.  By 
Alexander  Del  Mar,  M.  E.  Authorized  American 
edition.  This  is  the  great  authority  for  the  whole 
world  on  coinage  and  the  ratio  between  gold  and 
silver.  Mr.  Del  Mar  was  at  the  head  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Statistics  under  President  Andrew 
Johnson.  The  present  volume  is  the  result  of 
fifteen  years  of  research  at  the  British  Museum 
and  elsewhere.  The  latest  information  and  most 
accurate  details  relating  to  the  Monetary  Systems 
and  History  of  the  Various  States,  their  coins  and 
coinages,  paper  systems,  monetary  expedients  and 
experiments,  the  coinage  .prerogative,  principles 
affecting  money,  the  demonetization  of  silver,  etc., 
will  be  found  in  Del  Mar's  "Monetary  Systems." 
Cloth,  library  style,  complete  index,  444  pages, 
$2.00. 

He  who  masters  Mr.  Del  Mar's  book  will  know  more  of 
monetary  systems  than  999  men  out  of  a  thousand.— Financial 
News,  London,  Eng. 

Those  who  are  at  all  interested  in  the  monetary  conflicts 
which  have  been  going  on  of  late,  will  appreciate  this  volume. 
—Financial  Times,  London,  Eng. 

Mr.  Del  Mar's  book  is  a  monument  of  labor  and  research, 
representing,  indeed,  practically  the  results  of  a  lifetime  of 
study  in  the  history  of  monetary  systems  — Public  Opinion, 
New  York. 

Banking  Systems  of  the  World.  By  William 
Matthews  Handy.  An  impartial  statement  of  the 
conditions  under  which  Bank  Notes  are  issued  in 


BOOKS  ON  FINANCE. 

every  Nation,  and  the  actual  workings  of  the 
systems;  with  separate  chapters  on  Postal  Savings 
Banks  of  the  World,  also  an  appendix  containing 
Abstracts  of  Proposed  Currency  Reforms.  The 
author's  idea  has  been  to  furnish  a  manual  of 
reference.  The  work  is  impartial  and  the  sta 
tistics  are  the  latest  accessible.  It  is  of  spe 
cial  interest  at  the  present  time,  when  the  bank 
ing  question  threatens  to  overshadow  the  silver 
question.  The  present  work  is  the  only  com 
prehensive  work  on  banking  in  all  nations  covering 
the  whole  ground  in  a  few  words,  and  contains 
information  which  would  otherwise  be  accessible 
only  to  those  possessing  a  large  library  of  expensive 
books.  The  chapter  on  "Postal  Savings  Banks" 
contains  information  not  accessible  elsewhere  in 
books.  Crown  octavo,  extra  cloth,  192  pages. 
Price,  $1.00. 

The  chief  points  of  merit  of  the  book  are,  that  it  is  accurate, 
and  second  that  it  is  up-to-date — two  essentials  in  a  work  of 
that  sort,  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  real  value  to  the  owner.  Mr. 
Handy's  manual  is,  perhaps,  the  most  inclusive  of  the  kind 
ever  compiled.  It  tells  about  everything  worth  knowing  con 
cerning  the  monetary  systems  of  all  nations,  in  addition  to  a 
great  variety  of  other  information  of  a  correlative  nature, 
which  would  otherwise  be  accessible  only  by  those  pos 
sessing  an  ample  library.  Separate  chapters  on  the  postal 
savings  banks  and  currency  reforms  will  commend  them 
selves  as  being  especially  pertinent  in  view  of  the  important 
financial  problems  which  Congress  will  soon  be  called  upon 
to  consider.  We  have  seen  no  work  covering  the  same 
ground  that  has  covered  it  so  thoroughly  and  so  well. — Phila 
delphia  Bulletin. 

Admirably  designed,  *  *  the  carefully  skimmed  cream 
from  nearly  a  hundred  ponderous  and  little-known  volumes. 
*  *  Well  bound,  of  convenient  size,  and  furnished  with  an 
excellent  index.— Chicago  Tribune. 

Honey  Found:  Recovered  from  its  Hiding-Places, 
and  Put  Into  Circulation  through  Confidence  in 
Government  Banks.  By  Thomas  E.  Hill,  author 
of  "Hill's  Manual  of  Social  and  Business  Forms," 


BOOKS  ON  FINANCE.  3 

etc.  In  this  book  the  writer,  a  practical  business 
man,  proposes  a  practical  system  by  which  the 
United  States  may  carry  on  the  banking  business 
in  the  interest  of  the  whole  people.  He  suggests 
that  the  government  open  a  bank  at  every  county 
seat,  receive  deposits  subject  to  check  without 
interest,  and  time  deposits  at  three  per  cent,  and 
make  loans  at  four  per  cent,  up  to  half  the  value  of 
all  approved  collateral  that  may  be  offered.  The 
book  contains  an  appendix  of  valuable  statistical 
matter,  with  a  glossary  of  financial  terms.  Paper, 
25  cents;  cloth,  75  cents,  flexible  leather,  $1.00. 

A  Breed  of  Barren  fletal,  or  Currency  and  Inter 
est.  By  J.  W.  Bennett.  This  is  a  scientific  and 
thorough-going  treatise  which  does  for  interest 
precisely  what  Henry  George's  works  have  done 
for  rent.  Mr.  Bennett  shows  that  the  whole 
theory  of  interest-taking  is  based  on  fallacies. 
He  shows  the  inevitable  result  of  interest-taking 
is  ruin  for  enterprise  and  poverty  for  labor  He 
shows  that  with  a  currency  system  framed  in  the 
interest  of  the  majority,  interest  could  be  abol 
ished  and  humanity  set  free.  He  has  written  a 
book  that  is  needed,  and  is  needed  now.  Cloth, 
crown  octavo,  256  pages,  75  cents;  paper,  25  cents. 

"A  Breed  of  Barren  Metal"  is  the  peculiar  title  which  J.  W. 
Bennett  gives  to  his  book  telling  us  why  interest  is  robbery. 
Those  who  wish  to  have  the  best  arguments  advanced  on  this 
side  of  the  subject  will  find  them  here  set  forth.— New  York 
World. 

Mr.  Bennett  tackles  bravely  the  conditions  of  today  and, 
not  content  with  theorizing,  plunges  into  the  dangerous  sea 
of  definite  reform.  His  socialism  is  honest  and  reasonable 
and  the  pleading  of  his  cause,  if  at  times  a  little  bitter,  is 
always  strong  and  earnest.— Denver  News. 

The  Modern  Banker:  A  Story  of  His  Rapid  Rise 
and  Dangerous  Designs.  By  James  B.  Goode. 


4  BOOKS  ON  FINANCE, 

Mr.  Goode  is  a  successful  writer  of  popular  fiction, 
and  the  present  book  is  written  in  a  style  that  will 
please  the  average  novel  reader,  while  it  carries 
with  it  a  great  deal  of  forcible  argument  that  will 
awaken  people  to  the  evils  of  our  present  system, 
which  allows  a  few  individuals  to  make  enormous 
profits  by  controlling  the  circulation  of  the  peo 
ple's  money.  Paper,  180  pages,  25  cents. 

A  story  having  its  beginning  in  the  war  times  and  continu 
ing  over  a  period  of  some  thirty  years.  Nothing  could  more 
clearly  show  how  the  love  for  gain  and  desire  for  riches  can 
turn  brother  against  brother  and  son  against  father.  The 
book  so  to  speak,  draws  back  the  curtain  and  gives  the  world 
a  view  of  the  inside  history  of  the  actions  and  plans  of  the 
money  kings  of  this  country.  A  book  well  worth  reading. — 
Living  Issues,  Detroit. 

Mr.  Goode's  "Modern  Banker"  is  a  "novel  with  a  pur 
pose,"  a  purpose  equally  obvious  and  laudable.  The  bank 
ers'  methods  are  described  with,  the  exact  knowledge  of  a 
professional  expert,  and  the  impression  left  on  the  reader's 
mind  is  one  of  invincible  repugnance  to  the  whole  tribe  of 
money-manipulators  and  profound  compassion  for  their  vic 
tims. — Times  and  Echo,  London,  England. 

The  Honey  Question.  The  50  per  cent.  Fall  in 
General  Prices;  the  Evil  Effects.  The  Remedy: 
Bimetallism  at  16  to  i  and  Govermental  Control  of 
Paper  Money,  in  order  to  secure  a  Stable  Measure 
of  Prices — Stable  Money.  Monetary  History, 
1850-1896.  By  George  H.  Shibley  ("Justice"). 
This  book  of  743  large  octavo  pages,  with  over  80 
pages  of  illustrations  and  10  charts,  is  a  complete 
encyclopedia  of  financial  reform.  Cloth,  $1.50  ; 
paper,  50  cents. 

I  find  it  the  best  and  most  comprehensive  work  on  the  sub 
ject  that  I  have  ever  seen. — John  P.  Jones,  U.  S.  Senator 

from  Nevada. 

The  most  comprehensive  and  interesting  of  the  flood  of 
books  on  finance.— St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 

A  treasury  of  information— Manchester  Guardian  (Eng.). 

The  most  extensive,  exhaustive,  comprehensive  and  con 
vincing. — Farmers'  Tribune. 


BOOKS  ON  FINANCE.  5 

Sixteen  to  One.  Shall  the  United  States  Under 
take  Alone  the  Free  Coinage  of  Silver  at  this  Ratio? 
By  Richard  Lowry.  Paper,  121110.,  272  pages, 
25  cents. 

"  16  to  i,"  by  Richard  Lowry,  is  one  of  the  numerous  books 
that  are  doing  very  much  to  enlighten  the  darkness  of  the 
American  mind  on  the  most  important  question  of  political 
economy  that  underlies  our  civilization.  "  16  to  i,"  like  the 
title  of  many  books,  does  not  convey  the  real  character  of  the 
book,  which  is  among  the  best  treatises  which  has  been  writ 
ten  on  the  money  question.  The  chapters  on  Banks  and 
Panics  are  especially  valuable  for  the  much  needed  informa 
tion  they  contain.  The  author  commences  at  the  foundation 
of  the  government  and  clearly  demonstrates  the  fact  that  to 
the  banks  every  financial  crisis  that  has  scourged  the  busi 
ness  of  the  country  is  due.  *  *  *  Every  panic  which  ever 
existed  in  this  country  is  traced  to  the  banks  by  the  author, 
and  a  decrease  in  the  money  or  circulating  medium  is  their 
weapon. 

A  history  of  Jackson's  war  against  the  U.  S.  Bank  is  given 
in  a  condensed  form  that  will  greatly  add  to  the  much  needed 
information  on  the  subject.  The  audacity  of  the  Bank  in  its 
attempts  to  defy  law  and  its  interference  in  the  politics  of  the 
time,  is  an  exact  parallel  of  the  interference  of  the  national 
banks  of  to-day.  Jefferson  and  Jackson  clearly  pointed  out 
the  great  danger  the  liberties  of  the  people  were  in  from  the 
constant  menace  of  these  arrogant  institutions,  all  of  which 
is  set  forth  in  language  so  plain  and  forcible  that  the  most 
humble  reader  can  readily  comprehend. 

Every  phase  of  the  money  question  is  treated  in  the  same 
forcible  and  direct  manner.  Valuable  tables  are  given  from 
unassailed  statistics,  which  the  student  will  appreciate. 

The  great  and  crying  need  of  the  people  for  more  money 
and  money  that  cannot  be  affected  by  artificial  panics  en 
gineered  by  the  banks  is  the  strong  point,  unassailable,  which 
lies  back  of  the  demand  for  the  remonetization  of  silver  at  the 
ratio  of  "  16  to  i,"  the  title  of  the  book.— flidland  Journal. 

The  People  vs.  the  (ioldbugs.  By  A.  D.  War 
ner.  A  complete  arsenal  of  facts,  figures  and 
arguments  for  bimetallists.  The  author  draws 
freely  from  the  best  writers  in  favor  of  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one,  and 
condenses  his  material  into  144  convenient  pages. 
Paper,  25  cents;  eight  copies  mailed  for  $1.00. 
Special  terms  by  the  hundred  or  thousand. 

This  corrtpact  volume  is,  what  it  purports  to  be,  a  brief  on 
the  all-important  question  of  currency.  Citations  are  given 
from  some  of  the  leading  spirits  of  the  day,  including  some 


6  BOOKS   ON  FINANCE. 

who  formerly  were  silver  men,  who  now  bend  the  knee  to  the 
behests  of  bankers  and  the  gold  bugs.  The  author  contends 
that  one-half  the  money  of  actual  redemption  has  been  de 
stroyed  and  that  business  rests  on  one  leg  of  gold  instead  of 
two  legs  of  silver  'and  gold;  that  there  is  only  money  for 
those  who  can  control  it  and  none  for  those  who  cannot ;  those 
who  oontrol  the  gold  getting  richer,  and  those  who  cannot, 
getting  poorer ;  that  there  is  not  sufficient  money  to  repre 
sent  values  of  the  middle  classes,  and  that  as  long  as  this  is 
permitted  the  creditors  will  become  richer  and  the  debtors 
poorer;  that  in  place  of  Congress  regulating  the  coinage  of 
money,  the  power  has  been  handed  over  to  bankers,  and  con 
sequently  the  products  of  the  farm,  the  mine  and  the  shop 
has  decreased  in  value,  and  "gold"  has  caused  distress, 
want  and  woe  among  the  toilers. 

A  concise  history  of  money  and  its  value  is  given,  from 
the  earliest  period  to  the  present.  This  volume  contains  the 
record  of  the  administration  of  silver  and  its  effect  upon  the 
classes. 

Arguments  are  presented,  showing  that  the  single  standard 
of  gold  has  caused  the  outflow  of  gold  from  this  country. 

Strong  arguments  are  made  that  free  silver  would  not  and 
could  not  flood  this  country  with  silver. 

This  is  a  valuable  book  of  reference  on  the  great  issue  now 
before  the  American  people.— Sacramento  Bee. 

Money  Chart.     By  Marvin  Warren.  A  book  which 
is  accepted  by  the  leading  populist  newspapers  and 
workers  as  an  authoritative  statement  of  the  pres 
ent  position  of  the  People's  Party  on  the  money 
question.     Paper,  136  pages,  25  cents. 
The  infamy  of   the  money  redemption  theory  is  naturally 
awakening   much    thought   among  currency   reformers  who 
have  given  the  subject  attention.     No  other  heresy  has  had 
such  evil  effects  and  done  more   to   befog   and   mystify  the 
minds  of  the  people  than  this  absurd  and  indefensible  posi 
tion  on  the  money  question,   that  there   must   be  a  metallic 
money  of  "ultimate  redemption." 

It  is  the  masterly  manner  in  which  this  subject  is  handled 
that  gives  such  importance  at  the  present  time  to  this  new 
work.  The  book  strikes  the  most  vigorous  and  effective  blows 
at  this  popular  error,  and  makes  a  clear,  comprehensive  and 
able  argument  for  the  only  true  money  system  which  can  in 
the  light  of  sound  reason  be  accepted  by  thinkers  who  probe 
the  subject  to  the  bottom. 

This  little  book  can  be  placed  to  advantage  in  the  hands  of 
millions  who  have  never  studied  the  subject  from  a  true  sci 
entific  standpoint. 

It  may  yet  fill  a  place  of  much  importance  in  our  literature, 
dispelling  the  erroneous  teaching  about  money  of  "  final  re 
demption."  And  for  this  reason  Populists  can  well  afford  to 
extend  its  influence  to  the  greatest  extent  possible,  and  there 
by  acquaint  the  voting  public  with  the  vital  truths  on  which 
the  work  is  founded. — Chicago  Express. 


BOOKS  ON  SOCIALISM.  7 

The  Effects  of  the  Gold  Standard,  or  Bimetal- 
lists'  Catechism.  By  Dr.  W.  H.  Smith.  The 
cause  of  panics  and  hard  times,  the  absurdity  of 
the  over  production  theory,  our  financial  depen 
dence,  cornering  the  gold,  the  robbery  of  the  silver 
miners  and  other  producing  classes,  how  England 
is  enriched  at  the  expense  of  America,  why 
bimetallism  gives  us  the  better  dollar,  legislation 
by  which  the  American  people  are  legally  robbed, 
these  and  many  other  topics  fully  treated.  A  re 
markable  book,  full  of  information,  well  written, 
entertaining,  logical  and  highly  instructive.  Paper, 
202  pages,  25  cents. 

No  writer  on  the  money  question  has  more  clearly,  ac 
curately,  concisely  and  truthfully  described  what  money  is, 
its  necessities  to  civilization  and  the  disasters  of  the  gold 
standard,  than  Dr.  Smith.  The  book  is  simple  in  style,  con 
vincing  and  conclusive  in  statement,  and  ought  to  be  a  text 
book  in  every  institution  of  learning  in  the  United  States. — 
Silver  Knight,  Washington,  D.  C. 


BOOKS  ON  SOCIALISM. 

President  John  Smith.  By  Frederick  Upham 
Adams.  The  story  of  a  peaceful  revolution,  es 
tablishing  the  rule  of  the  majority  and  a  national 
system  of  production  and  distribution  in  the 
United  States.  Cloth,  i2mo.,  290  pages,  $1.00; 
paper,  10  cents.  (Trade  discount  on  the  paper 
edition  is  "special.") 

This  remarkable  story — the  most  striking  novel  of  the  age 
—is  destined  to  outsell  Edward  Bellamy's  "Looking  Back 
ward." — American  Nonconformist. 

President  John  Smith  is  a  greater  book  than  "  Looking 
Backward."  It  pictures  our  complex  social  and  industrial 
situation  as  it  is  to-day  and  gives  a  very  practical  way  out. 
It  is  a  story  of  absorbing  interest. — Toledo  Union. 

"President  John  Smith,  or  the  Story  of  a  Peaceful  Revolu 
tion,"  by  Frederick  U.  Adams,  published  by  Charles  H.  Kerr 
&  Co.,  of  Chicago,  in  cheap  form,  is  a  book  I  recommend  to 


8  BOOKS  ON  SOCIALISM. 

every  reader  of  The  Press.  The  majority  of  them  will  not 
agree  with  its  teachings,  but  it  does  the  mind  incalculable 
good  sometimes  to  read  a  book  of  this  kind  or  listen  care 
fully  to  the  other  side.  And  when  such  a  work  is  penned  in 
a  clear,  incisive  style,  such  as  Mr.  Adams  wields  like  a  lithe 
Toledo,  there  is  literary  delight  to  be  gained  by  encountering 
his  iconoclastic  doctrines. — New  York  Press. 

The  Garden  of  Eden,  U.  S.  A.,  A  Very  Possible 
Story.  By  W.  H.  Bishop.  The  present  co-oper 
ative  movements  lend  new  interest  to  this  delight 
ful  story  of  an  experiment  in  socialism  without  the 
aid  of  legislation.  Cloth,  crown  octavo,  369  pages, 
$1.00;  paper,  50  cents. 

One  of  the  best  of  the  many  novels  of  modern  times  that 
have  for  a  motive  social  reform  is  "  The  Garden  of  Eden,  U. 
S.  A.,"  by  W.  H.  Bishop.  The  reformation  set  out  is  chiefly 
social,  but  is  also  municipal.  A  millionaire  established  an 
ideal  city  in  a  secluded  valley  among  the  North  Carolina 
mountains.  Theoretically  it  is  an  exemplification  of  social 
ism.  The  chief  reformation  is  the  independence  and  the 
emancipation  of  woman,  making  her  wholly  the  equal  of  man. 
The  story  pictures  the  consequence  of  such  a  reformation. 
The  interesting  feature  of  the  book,  however,  lies  in  the 
unique  love  story  that  runs  through  it,  which  is  very  original 
in  its  character  and  is  most  cleverly  presented  by  the  author. 
— Indianapolis  Sentinal. 

How  to  Govern  Chicago.  By  a  Practical  Re 
former.  This  is  a  study  in  municipal  reform  by  a 
writer  who  takes  Chicago  for  his  text/  Nearly 
every  page  in  the  book,  however,  will  be  found 
suggestive  by  reformers  in  other  cities.  Paper, 
118  pages,  25  cents. 

A  timely,  sensible,  feasible  plan.  In  substance,  it  means 
the  restoration  to  the  people,  the  citizens,  of  their  fee  in  cor 
porations  that  now  Bold  the  city  in  their  clutches.  The 
author  pleads  for  municipalizing  light,  transit,  government, 
and  the  civil  service,  and  he  pleads  in  a  thoroughly  practical 
way.— The  Boston  Academy. 

This  is  a  very  useful  little  publication.  It  has  many  good 
ideas  as  to  the  management  of  municipalities,  sharply  and  in 
cisively  put,  and  it  backs  up  its  positions  by  published  letters 
from  a  good  many  men  of  recognized  ability  and  experience 
in  the  business.— New  Orleans  Picayune. 

A  small  volume  having  quite  a  local  flavor,  but  of  interest 
to  all  students  of  municipal  reform.  The  suggestions  are 
good  and  practical,  pot  being  at  all  revolutionary,  but  bas«d 


BOOKS  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY,         9 

on  a  logical  development  of  municipal  reform  along  modern 
lines.— Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

Man  or  Dollar,  Which?  A  story  of  the  co-oper 
ative  commonwealth  in  the  United  States  of  the 
twentieth  century,  and  how  it  was  brought  about. 
A  delightful  picture  of  what  the  world  will  be 
when  people  work  to  help  each  other  instead  of 
struggling  to  overcome  each  other.  A  unique 

.  feature  of  the  book  is  its  story  of  the  universal 
strike,  which  proved  that  the  farmers  and  laborers 
of  the  United  States  acting  together  are  stronger 
than  the  money  power.  Paper,  199  pages,  25  cents. 

This  is  a  new  novel  by  a  "  Newspaper  Man,"  that  sets 
forth  a  realistic  picture  of  what  the  world  will  be  when  co 
operation  takes  the  place  of  competition.  The  conception 
is  strong,  bold  and  not  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  average 
reader;  nor  so  Utopian  as  to  discourage  the  utilitarian.  The 
Golden  Rule  is  its  inspiring  principle,  and  that  is  held  as  the 
alchemy  that  will  transform  this  baser  civilization  into  the 
enduring  fabric  of  the  Golden  Age.  The  book,  while  social 
istic,  is  not  offensive  to  the  daintiest  partisan,  and  running 
through  the  narrative  is  a  pure  story  of  love  and  heroism  that 
strongly  appeals  to  the  best  and  noblest  in  man.— Oklahoma 
Representative. 


BOOKS  OF  AflERICAN  HISTORY. 

Our  Nation's  History  and  Song,  or  The  Cam 
paign  Songs  Our  Fathers  Sung.  By  Joseph  M. 
Clary.  This  book  is  of  more  than  ordinary  his 
torical  interest.  The  author  has  collected  from 
original  sources,  by  diligent  research  in  the  great 
library  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  in  the 
state  capitol  at  Madison,  the  principal  songs  actu 
ally  sung  in  the  successive  presidential  campaigns 
from  Washington's  time  down.  The  relation  of 
song  to  national  life  is  traced  in  an  interesting 
series  of  prefactory  chapters,  and  the  body  of  the 
work  is  arranged  by  campaigns,  The  songs  are 


10       BOOKS   OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY. 

made  intelligible  by  a  detailed  account  of  the  can 
didates  and  platforms  of  each  campaign,  and  a 
complete  table  of  election  figures  is  given  in  each 
case,  together  with  the  personnel  of  each  presi 
dential  cabinet  and  the  political  divisions  of  every 
congress  from  the  beginning.  It  is  an  invaluable 
work  of  reference  to  any  student  of  American  his 
tory.  Crown  octavo,  480  pages,  cloth,  $1.00; 
paper,  50  cents. 

A  History  of  the  American  Tariff,  1789-1860. 

By  Eugene  C.  Lewis.  This  history  is  not  written 
in  the  interest  of  any  party  or  theory,  the  author's 
sole  object  being  to  collect  and  arrange  the  princi 
pal  facts  bearing  on  the  subject.  Cloth,  121110., 
157  pages,  75  cents;  paper,  25  cents. 

The  book  is  designed  to  show  the  actual  results  of  every 
free  trade  experiment  that  has  been  tried,  and  its  impartial 
style  will  commend  it  to  the  study  of  every  voter,  democratic, 
republican  or  populist,  who  wants  to  get  at  the  facts  of  the 
past  in  order  to  determine  his  course  in  the  future. — Burling 
ton  Hawkeye. 

As  a  handy  book  of  reference  it  serves  admirably,  and 
dates  and  other  information  are  carefully  correct  and  may  be 
depended  upon. — Milwaukee  Journal. 

Mr.  Lewis'  work  is  more  than  a  mere  addition  to  campaign 
literature.  It  is,  in  fact,  what  its  name  implies,  a  history  of 
the  American  tariff,  which  is  told  briefly  and  well.— The 
American. 

The  Pullman  Strike.  By  William  H  Carwardine, 
Pastor  of  the  First  M.  E.  Church,  Pullman,  111. 
To  the  future  historian  this  bit  of  chronology  by 
an  eye  witness  will  be  one  of  the  most  valuable 
documents  on  the  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  strike  at  Pullman  is  described  in 
this  book  with  absolute  fidelity,  by  an  impartial 
observer  committed  to  neither  party.  Paper,  126 
pages,  25  cents. 


BOOKS  OF  MODERN  SCIENCE.          11 

This  volume  contains  all  that  one  desires  to  know  about 
the  Pullman  strike  and  the  points  at  issue  between  the  Pull 
man  Company  and  the  men  who  went  out  on  the  strike.  It 
would  seem  as  if  Mr.  Carwardine  had  told  his  story  fully  and 
fairly,  and  the  statement  is  more  complete  and  more  docu 
mentary  than  what  has  been  given  in  the  daily  press.  It  gives 
a  good  idea  of  what  were  the  points  at  issue,  and  of  what 
Pullman,  as  a  community,  aims  to  accomplish  and  where  it 
fails.  The  speed  with  which  this  book  has  been  brought  out 
is  a  good  illustration  of  what  can  be  accomplished  when  every 
effort  is  made  to  hasten  its  publication.  It  is  remarkable  that 
so  good  a  book  could  have  been  prepared  under  the  circum 
stances.— Boston  Herald. 

A  very  careful,  unbiased  and  accurate  compilation  of  the 
facts.— New  York  World. 


BOOKS  OF  MODERN  SCIENCE. 

Proofs  of  Evolution.  One  of  a  series  of  popular 
lectures  before  the  Brooklyn  Ethical  Association, 
by  Nelson  C.  Parshall.  Contents  :  The  Growth 
of  Evolutionary  Thought  ;  Practical  Benefits  of 
the  Evolution  Theory  ;  the  Four  Great  Factors  of 
Evolution  ;  Proofs  from  Geology  ;  Proofs  from 
Morphology  ;  Proofs  from  Embryology  ;  Proofs 
from  Metamorphosis  ;  Proofs  from  Rudimentary 
Organs  ;  Proofs  from  Geographical  Distribution  ; 
Proofs  from  Discovered  Links  ;  Proofs  from  Arti 
ficial  Breeding  ;  Proofs  from  Reversion  ;  Proofs 
from  Mimicry  ;  Spontaneous  Generation  ;  a  Sum 
mary  of  Evidence  ;  Language  and  the  Moral 
Sense  ;  Conclusion.  Cloth,  50  cents. 

One  of  the  most  systematic,  concise  and  comprehensive 
esentations  in 
ublic  Opinion. 


, 

presentations  in  popular  form  of   the  theory  of  evolution.  — 
P 


Hypnotism  Up  to  Date.  By  Sydney  Flower,  edi 
tor  of  the  "Hypnotic  Magazine."  This  book  is 
unique  in  its  field.  It  is  written  in  a  bright  and 
entertaining  style,  simple  enough  to  be  intelligible 


12      BOOKS  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT. 

to  any  reader  of  ordinary  education,  instead  of 
bristling  with  technical  terms.  Moreover,  it  is 
thoroughly  scientific,  and  will  serve  to  correct 
many  of  the  popular  delusions  that  now  attach  to 
the  subject  of  hypnotism.  It  is  in  the  form  of 
narrative  and  dialogue.  Cloth,  i2mo.,  161  pages, 
.  $1.00  ;  paper,  25  cents. 

Full  of  information,  put  in  an  interesting  and  readable  form. 
—Milwaukee  Journal. 

The  style  throughout  is  bright  and  interesting,  and  vrill 
attract  many  readers  who  have  hitherto  found  the  subject  too 
difficult.— Woman's  Tribune. 

Apparently  written  with  some  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
which  is  not  always  the  case  with  these  popular  accounts  of 
scientific  subjects. — Hartford  Times. 

It  is  a  plain  and  lucid  explanation  of  the  hypnotic  influ 
ence,  cast  in  dialogue  form  to  render  it  easy  of  understand 
ing.  It  should  be  read  with  delight  by  those  who  desire  to 
form  some  idea  of  the  real  meaning  of  hypnotism  without  re 
course  to  abstruse  scientific  works  on  the  subject.— Philadel 
phia  Call. 


Life   and   the   Conditions   of  Survival.    The 

Physical  Basis  of  Ethics,  Sociology  and  Religion. 
By  Dr.  Lewis  G.  Janes,  A.  Emerson  Palmer,  Dr. 
Robert  G.  Eccles,  Dr.  Rossiter  W.  Raymond, 
Prof.  W.  O.  Atwater,  Prof.  Edward  D.  Cope,  Dr. 
Martin  L.  Holbrook,  Dr.  David  Allyn  Gorton, 
Mrs.  Lizzie  Cheney  Ward,  Z.  Sidney  Sampson, 
John  White  Chadwick,  John  C.  Kimball,  James  A. 
Skilton,  and  E.  P.  Powell.  A  volume  of  lectures 
and  discussions  before  the  Brooklyn  Ethical  Asso 
ciation.  The  edition  is  limited  and  the  plates  have 
been  destroyed,  therefore  orders  must  be  sent  at 
once  to  secure  copies.  Cloth,  447  pages,  $2.00. 

This  collection  of  fourteen  lectures,  together  with  the  dis 
cussion  which  follows  the  delivery  of  each,  covers  well  the 
broad  field  af  research  and  of  speculation  which  is  named  by 
the  title.— Boston  Transcript. 


BOOKS  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT.      13 
BOOKS  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew  in  Greek.     Edited  by 
Alexander   Kerr   and   Herbert   Gushing    Tolman, 
professors  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Crown 
octavo,  142  pages  ;  cloth,-$i.oo ;    paper,  50  cents. 

Several  features  distinguish  this  volume,  among  which 
may  be  noted  the  indication  by  bold  type  in  the  text  of  those 
words  which  Matthew  alone  of  the  New  Testament  employs; 
the  estimate  of  the  frequency  of  occurence  of  every  word  in 
Matthew;  the  list  of  passages  peculiar  to  Matthew;  the  sum 
mary  of  the  prominent  examples  of  Hebraism  in  Matthew; 
and  the  vocabulary,  restricted  as  far  as  possible  to  the  use 
and  meaning  of  each  word  in  Matthew.  The  type  is  excel 
lent,  the  form  of  the  book  handy,  and  the  arrangement  of 
matter  excellent.— Education,  Boston. 

Take  this  volume  all  in  all  it  is  a  treasure  for  the  student 
of  Matthew,  setting  forth  almost  at  a  glance  and  with  great 
clearness  the  peculiar  features  of  Matthew's  work,  the  indi 
vidual  characteristics  of  his  gospel.— Central  Christian  Ad 
vocate. 

A  Narrow  Ax  in  Biblical  Criticism.  By  Rev. 
Charles  Caverno,  A,  M.,  LL.  D.  Cloth,  crown 
octavo,  300  pages,  $1.00. 

On  every  page  of  this  interesting  volume  the  reader  is 
made  conscious  that  the  subject  is  in  the  grasp  of  a-strong 
and  well-furnished  mind.  Indeed  we  do  not  know  any  book 
of  this  size  which  contains  more  helpful  discussions  of  the 
subjects  in  hand  than  are  found  here.  The  volume  contains 
chapters  upon  the  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse,  of  Job, 
Jonah,  Isaiah,  the  Imprecatory  Psalms,  the  story  of  Eden, 
and  several  other  topics.  The  chapter  upon  the  Imprecatory 
Psalms  is  unexcelled  in  the  wisdom  of  its  treatment  and  the 
vigor  of  its  style.  The  literary  merits  are  throughout  of  a 
high  order.— Bibliotheca  Sacra. 

A  man  who  preaches  as  Dr.  Caverno  writes  would  compel 
his  hearers  to  think.— The  Outlook. 

The  thought  throughout  is  reverent  and  believing,  but  also 
judicial  and  independent.  The  style  is  excellent,  sturdy  and 
entertaining.—Hartford  Seminary  Record. 

Nature  and  Deity.  A  study  of  religion  as  a  quest 
of  the  ideal.  By  Frederick  Meakin.  Cloth,  crown 
octavo,  136  pages,  $1.00. 

"Nature  and  Deity"  is  a  noteworthy  book.  The  theme  is 
treated  in  a  comprehensive  and  penetrative  way.  The  author 
shows  a  strong  grasp  of  thought.  The  object  of  the  volume 
is  "the  rationalization  of  religion,"  This  is  to  be  done  by 
finding  in  experience  widely  interpreted  the  impulse  and  law 


14      BOOKS  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT. 

of  our  religious  life.  This  impulse  is  the  quest  of  the  ideal. 
Our  religious  life  is  given  in  our  natural  life.  How  given? 
is  the  inquiry  of  our  author.  The  sufficiency  of  natural  law 
in  the  sphere  of  religion  is  the  postulate  of  the  book.  It  is 
well  fitted,  on  the  one  hand,  to  steady  the  steps  of  those  who 
are  losing  the  footing  of  faith  ;  and  to  make,  on  the  other 
hand,  more  cautious  the  steps  of  those  who  are  pursuing  the 
unseen  in  a  conventional  and  assured  way. — The  Dial. 

The  Morals  of  Christ.  A  comparison  with  con 
temporaneous  systems.  By  Austin  Bierbower. 
Crown  octavo,  200  pages,  cloth,  $1.00  ;  paper,  50 
cents. 

This  is  the  second  edition  of  a  book  that  justly  claims 
hearty  commendation  on  the  ground  of  its  suggestiveness. 
Originality,  pure  and  simple,  is  hardly  to  be  looked  for  save 
in  matters  of  form  and  method.  Mr.  Bierbower's  book,  if 
not  absolutely  original,  is  at  least  very  valuable  from  the  fact 
that  he  invites  his  readers  to  a  study  of  the  teachings  of 
Christ,  from  a  standpoint  that  has  been  largely  overlooked  by 
the  ordinary  reader.  There  are  three  chapters  only  in  the 
book.  But  they  are  divided,  and  the  subject  matter  is  care 
fully  classified,  so  that  the  reader  finds  no  difficulty  in  an 
orderly  mastery  of  the  book.  The  Mosaic,  the  Pharisaic,  and 
the  Graeco-Roman  systems  of  morals  are  set  face  to  face  with 
the  teachings  of  the  son  of  man.  The  study  of  these  pages 
will  set  the  thoughtful  mind  at  work,  and  the  result  will  be, 
that  however  the  reader  may  agree  or  disagree  with  the 
author  as  to  the  general  results  of  the  comparison,  he  will 
become  more  and  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  wealth  of 
meanings  and  the  practical  wealth  of  the  words  of  Jesus. — 
Saturday  Evening  Herald. 

Theodore  Parker.  By  Samuel  Johnson,  edited  by 
John  H.  Clifford  and  Horace  Traubel.  Cloth, 
crown  octavo,  $1.00. 

A  new  volume  concerning  Theodore  Parker,  has  just  been 
given  to  the  reading  world  in  the  form  of  a  lecture  by  Samuel 
Johnson,  and  the  book  proves  to  be  one  of  much  interest. 
Boston  has  not  only  had  a  great  civil  and  political  history, 
but  in  theology  also,  it  has  been  the  center  of  the  greatest 
changes  in  modern  times 

Theodore  Parker,  the  American  Luther,  as  he  has  been 
called,  was  a  man  of  such  strength  and  virility  of  character, 
and  has  left  such  an  impress  of  his  individuality  on  the 
thought  of  our  time,  that  this  sketch  of  his  character  will 
interest  not  those  in  the  theological  arena  alone,  but  also, 
and  perhaps  most,  the  general  reading  public.  The  book  is 
made  up  of  an  Introductory  address,  and  a  lecture  which, 
Mr.  Johnson  wrote  soon  after  the  death  of  Theodore  Parker, 
in  1860,  and  which  he  delivered  at  various  times  until  his 
decease  in  1882.  Mr.  Johnson  was  eminently  fitted  to  write 


B O OKS  OF  POE TRY.  15 

such  a  sketch,  both  from  his  scholary  attainments,  and  from 
his  personal  knowledge  of  the  subject.  The  book  has  been 
carefully  edited. — Boston  Commonwealth. 


BOOKS  OF  POETRY. 

America  Liberate.  A  poem  by  Robert  H.  Vickers. 
Paper,  75  pages,  white  antique  cover,  uncut  edges  ; 
50  cents. 

As  will  be  judged,  it  is  a  song  of  freedom  and  an  eloquent 
one — not  at  high-flown,  frenzied  space,  but  in  earnest  dignity 
of  measure  that  gives  each  phrase  a  statelier  rhythm,  a 
nobler  seriousness.  The  descriptiveness  of  the  Western 
land,  with  which  it  opens,  is  richly  thoughtful  as  well  as  finely 
colored,  bestowing  on  the  lines  a  characteristic  grace  that 
conveys  much  toward  a  feeling  of  reality.  The  vision  builds 
therefrom  at  ease  a  joyous  scene,  profusely  radiant  with 
Nature's  lavish  gifts.  And  into  this  scene  comes  human 
strife — that  barbarous  strife  which  is  evolution's  weapon  in 
the  earlier  days  of  human  awakening. 

Briefly  are  sketched  the  Eastern  uprisings  which  sent  their 
exiles  to  our  Western  land.  The  oncoming  of  the  Spaniards, 
their  bloody  onslaughts  on  the  natives,  their  impious  deeds  in 
enforcing  subservience  to  their  will — this  is  told  from  the 
earlier  years  of  oppression  and  somewhat  beyond  1820,  when 
military  revolution  freed  finally  all  of  Spanish  America.  It 
is  a  gruesome,  heart-rending  tale,  locating  principally  in 
Central  and  South  America  and  Mexico.  It  embodies  a  vast 
deal  more  of  history  than  one  would  suppose  these  seventy- 
five  pages  to  contain — and  the  haunting  romance  of  it  all  is 
inconceivable. — Boston  Ideas. 

The  Sailing  of  King  Olaf  and  other  poems.  By 
Alice  Williams  Brothertcn.  Cloth,  burnished  red 
edges,  with  beautiful  cover  design  in  silver,  145 
pages,  $1.00. 

Not  only  manifests  freshness,  versatility,  and  considerable 
imaginative  power,  but  more  attention  to  form  and  a  higher 
degree  of  restraint  than  ordinary. — Boston  Journal. 

It  is  the  work  of  a  real  poet,  and  one  who  has  at  times  a 
daring  inspiration.— Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette. 

It  is  a  dainty  little  book,  just  the  thing  to  have  handy  to 
read  over  and  over  in  waiting  moments,  and  ever  the  melody 
will  grow  upon  the  ear  and  quiet  come  to  the  heart.— Wo 
man's  Tribune. 

It  is  beautifully  designed  for  a  little  gift  book,  and  its  con 
tents  make  it  a  worthy  offering.— Dayton  Democrat, 


16  BOOKS  OF  POETRY. 

The  Flaming  Meteor.  Poems  of  Will  Hubbard- 
Kernan,  with  portrait  of  the  author,  and  life-sketch 
by  Hon.  John  R.  Clyner,  of  Ohio.  Cloth,  crown 
octavo,  270  pages,  $1.50. 

The  book  is  divided  into  Poems  of  Pessimism,  Melodies  of 
Misogamy,  Poems  of  Passing  Moods,  Agnostic  Arguments  and 
Poems  Political.  In  all  of  these  the  author  possesses  a  posi 
tive  individuality  and  a  vein  of  originality  underlaid  by 
strong  conviction.  It  was  said  by  one  who  knew  him:  "As  a 
man  Kernan  stands  apart,  because  few  can  understand  him. 
He  is  an  intense — I  might  say  vindictive — hater  of  shams,  and 
he  never  conceals  his  opinions  or  hesitates  to  speak  his  creed 
in  unmistakable  Saxon.  He  is  a  free-thinker  in  religion  and 
a  free  lance  in  society.  His  mind  is  constantly  at  war  with 
existing  conditions. 

The  justice  of  all  these  assertions  is  readily  seen  in  Ker- 
nan's  writings.  The  unrest  is  noticeable,  but  the  sentiment 
and  style,  meanwhile,  is  very  fascinating.  For  instance: 

O!  Fate  is  cruel,  and  Fate  is  cold, 

And  only  giveth  a  grave  at  last; 
And  what  is  glory,  or  love,  or  gold, 

When  this  brief  hour  is  over-past? 

What  doth  it  matter  us  how  we  live? 

What  doth  it  matter  us  how  we  die? 
What  can  all  of  the  future  give 

When  under  the  grassy  clods  we  lie? 

What  will  it  matter  to  you  and  me — 

Insensate  there  in  immortal  calm — 
Whether  our  funeral  dirge  will  be 

A  reptile's  hiss  or  a  nation's  psalm? 
Whether  our  friends  were  false  or'true, 

Whether  our  foes  were  strong  or  weak, 
What  will  it  matter  to  me  or  you, 

After  our  candle  is  out?     O,  speak  ! 

Other  poems  in  their  brightness  and  good  cheer  are 
marked  contrasts  to  this,  but  in  whatever  mood,  Kernan  en 
tertains  his  readers  well. — Kansas  City  Journal. 

Poems.  By  James  Vila  Blake.  Poems  of  love,  of 
friendship,  of  nature,  but  especially  of  religion — 
the  religion  based  not  on  dogma,  but  on  the  cease 
less  search  for  truth.  Mr.  Blake  is  not  afraid  of 
modern  science  and  does  not  shut  his  eyes  to  mod 
ern  thought.  To  those  who  cannot  accept  ancient 
creeds  but  do  care  for  religion,  these  poems  will  be 
profoundly  satisfying.  Cloth,  I2rno,i88  pages, $1.00 


BOOKS  OF  BELLES-LETTRES.  17 

"Love  and  Law"  is  a  truly  noble  poem,  rising  at  the  last 
into  a  passion  of  trust  and  worship  that  is  refreshing  as  a 
breath  of  mountain  air.  Some  of  the  little  jets  of  thought  or 
feeling,  like  "On  the  Road"  and  "In  Him,"  are  wondrous 
fine,  the  last  a  bit  of  lyric  rapture  strange  to  find  so  near  the 
arid  realism  of  to-day, 

Though  the  bee 
Miss  the  clover, 
Fly  it  by  and  know  it  not ; 
Though  the  sea 
Wash  not  over 

On  the  sands  a  wounded  spot; 
Heart,  O  heart! 
Thou  wilt  part 

From  the  All-hold  on  thee,  and  lose  thy  way, 
Never,  never; 
Nor  wilt  sever 

Thy  sweet  life  from  the  life  of  night  and  day. 
Thou  in  Him 
Liest  as  dim 

As  yellow  wings  in  golden  atmosphere, 
Or  in  the  sea  each  watery  spiritual  sphere. 
*  *  *  The  circle  of  poems  on  Jesus  elaborate  a  splendid 
simile  with  cumulative  and  impressive  power.  The  poems  of 
love  are  of  the  most  striking  quality.  They  are  as  pure  as 
Danta's  "Vita  Nuova,"  but  are  not  so  remote  as  that  from 
natural  human  tenderness.  There  is  something  invidious 
in  the  mention  of  particular  poems.  There  are  others  quite 
as  interesting  and  impressive  as  any  we  have  named,  and  we 
recommend  the  volume  as  a  whole  to  all  who  wish  to  see  a 
novel  landscape  and  to  breathe  a  fresh,  invigorating  air. — 
John  W.  Chadwick,  in  Boston  Index. 


BOOKS  OF  BELLES-LETTRES. 

Essays.  By  James  Vila  Blake.  Subjects:  Choice, 
Faculty,  Public  Education,  Happiness  and  Time, 
Vainglory,  Luck,  Seeing  Good  Things,  Side- 
Lights  of  Intelligence,  Individuality,  Questions  of 
Heroism,  Praising,  Censure,  Flattery,  Govern 
ment,  Hand-writing,  Knowledge,  Meditation,  Com 
mon  Sense,  Recuital,  Anger,  Judgment  of  Others, 
Patience,  Enemies,  Immortal  Life,  Death,  Emer 
gency,  Conscience,  His  Letters,  Character  as  a 
Work,  Superiority.  Cloth,  i2mo.,  216  pages,  $1.00. 

Passages  taken  from  all  parts  of  the  volume  indicate  better 
than  anything  we  could  say  the  wit  and  warmth,  the  keenness 
and  kindness,  the  catholicity  and  the  humaneness,  the  com- 


18  BOOKS  OF  BELLES-LETTRES. 

mon-sense  and  the  sententiousness  of  Mr.  Blake's  essays. — 
Christian  Register,  Boston. 

The  essays  of  Mr.  Blake  will  surprise  and  delight  all 
lovers  of  good  English  prose.  He  has  made  a  contribution  of 
lasting  value  to  our  literature  in  a  form  so  condensed  and  so 
original  as  to  inevitably  attract  and  hold  the  attention  of 
thoughtful  readers.— Chicago  Tribune. 

Mr.  Blake's  essays  will  give  pleasure  to  all  thoughtful 
persons  reading  them,  and  they  can  hardly  fail  of  doing  many 
great  and  lasting  good.— The  Index. 


St.  Solifer,  with  Other  Worthies  and  Un- 
worthies.  By  James  Vila  Blake.  A  volume  of 
literary  essays.  Contents:  St.  Solifer,  Motive  and 
a  Story;  Yima;  Sprinkling  the  Thermometer;  A 
Story  from  Meuleville,  the  Tripling  of  the  Muses; 
A  Dying- Speech;  A  Life  Case;  From  the  Dabstan; 
Morning;  Death  as  a  Neighbor;  Thamyris;  Syrinx; 
Antaeus.  Cloth,  crown  octavo,  179  pages,  $1.00; 
paper,  50  cents. 

This  pretty  book  of  179  pages  contains  some  fourteen 
chapters  or  stories,  or  essays.  One  can  call  them  what  he 
likes.  They  are  certainly  hardly  chapters,  for  they  are  all  on 
different  subjects;  nor  stories,  for  while  they  contain  many 
curious  tales  and  bits  of  folk  lore,  they  have  no  unity.  They 
are  just  genial,  rambling  chats,  and  very  quaint  and  curious 
and  readable.  The  author  certainly  has  a  style  of  his  own, 
very  graceful  and  antiquated,  and  very  charming.  His  book 
is  well  worth  any  one's  reading. — New  Orleans  Picayune. 

We  do  not  remember  to  have  read  any  book  of  essays  in 
modern  times  which  are  so  suggestive  and  which  are  written 
in  such  classical  English.  These  essays  should  have  a  wide 
circulation,  if  for  nothing  else  simply  as  models  of  style. — 
Tacoma  Globe. 

The  book  is  a  pleasure.— Minneapolis  Tribune. 

The  Legend  of  Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark:  as 
found  in  the  works  of  Saxo  Grammaticus  and 
Other  Writers  of  the  Twelfth  Century.  By  George 
P.  Hansen,  late  U.  S.  Consul  at  Elsinore,  Den 
mark.  Edited  by  C.  B.  Simons.  Cloth,  square 
18  mo.,  57  pages,  with  portrait,  50  cents. 

A  concise  statement  of  the  sources  in  legendary  record  of 
the  Hamlet  myth,  and  of  all  the  traceable  links  that  unite  the 


BOOKS  OF  BELLES-LETTRES.  19 

story  of  the  stalwart  hero,  who  feigned  madness  for  the  sake 
of  revenge,  with  the  events  of  Danish  history,  together  with 
the  legend  itself,  as  Saxo  tells  it,  will  be  found  in  a  well- 
printed  little  book,  entitled  "The  Legend  of  Hamlet,"  57 
pages.  The  authorities  are  not  new  to  the  special  scholar, 
but  the  material  for  this  account  was  freshly  gathered  by 
the  late  Mr.  Hansen  during  his  residence  in  Elsinore  as  U. 
S.  Consul,  and  the  account  itself  may  be  commended  as  giv 
ing  the  general  reader  in  cheap  and  convenient  form  all  the 
details  of  interest  concerning  the  old  story,  whch  the  great 
Dramatist  used  mainly  as  a  point  of  departure. — Shakes- 
peariana. 

Outline  Studies  in  James  Russell  Lowell;  His 

Poetry  and  Prose.  By  Mrs.  Susan  B.  Beals.  Fifth 
edition,  revised.  Paper,  square  i8mo,  32  pages, 
10  cents. 

The  little  book  both  interested  and  astonished  me.  I  had 
no  notion  that  anybody  would  think  what  I  had  written 
worthy  of  so  thorough  and  exact  a  study  as  this  book  bears 
witness  to.  The  author  is  far  more  familiar  with  my  works 
than  I  can  pretend  to  be.— J.  R.  Lowell. 

Outline   Studies   in    Holmes,    Bryant,    Whittier;    Their 

Poems.   By  William  C.  Gannett  and  others.  Paper,  square 

i8mo,  32  pages,  10  cents. 
Outline  Studies  in  George  Eliot.     By  Celia  Parker  Woolley. 

Paper,  square  i8mo,  32  pages,  10  cents. 
Outline  Studies  in  the  History  of  Ireland.      By  Professor 

William  F.  Allen.     Paper,  square  i8mo,  8  pages,  10  cents. 
Outline   Studies  in    Dickens'    Tale  of   Two   Cities.      By 

Emma  Endicott  Marean.      Paper,  square  i8mo,  10  pages, 

10  cents. 
Outline  Studies  in  the  History  of  Art.    By  Ellen  D.  Hale. 

Paper,  square  i8mo,  15  pages,  10  cents. 

Outline  Studies  in  Religious  History  and  Thought.      By 

John  C.  Learned.     Paper,  square  i8mo,  n  pages,  10  cents. 
Outline  Studies  of  Holland.     Prepared  by  Edwin  D.  Mead. 

Paper,  square  iSmo,  20  pages,  10  cents. 
Outline  Studies    in   the    History  of   the  Northwest.    By 

Frederick  J.  Turner.      Paper,  square  i8mo,    12  pages,  10 

cents. 
Outline  Studies  in    Lessing's  Nathan  the  Wise.     By  the 

Unity  Clubs   of  Cleveland   and   Chicago.      Paper,   square 

i8mo,  8  pages,  10  cents. 


20  BOOKS  OF  FICTION. 

BOOKS  OF   FICTION. 

Asleep  and  Awake.  By  Raymond  Russell.  A 
strong  and  realistic  story  of  Chicago's  dark  places, 
daring  in  its  choice  of  subject  but  delicate  in  its 
treatment.  Crown  octavo,  cloth,  199  pages,  $1.00. 

"Asleep  and  Awake  "  is  a  book  that  is  finding  its  way 
among  the  reading  public  of  the  west.  It  is  a  peculiarly  in 
teresting  narrative;  it  shows  the  difference  in  the  conditions 
of  different  people;  illustrates  the  trials  and  difficulties 
and  treatment  by  the  world,  of  onej  who  attempts  to  ennoble 
her  life  by  noble  pursuits  and  attainments,  and  finally  pictures 
a  scene  amid  the  debauchery  and  deviltry  of  Custom  House 
Place,  Chicago.— The  Independent,  Le  Roy,  Minn. 

The  Auroraphone.  A  Romance.  By  Cyrus  Cole 
A  remarkable  story  of  an  invention  for  telegraph 
ing  without  the  aid  of  wires  (written  by  the  way 
before  the  newspapers  announced  this  invention  as 
a  fact).  The  inventor  in  the  story  to  his  surprise, 
found  himself  in  telegraphic  communication  with 
the  planet  Saturn,  and  received  much  interesting 
information  regarding  the  religious  and  social  in 
stitutions  of  that  planet.  Cloth,  i2mo.,  249  pages, 
50  cents. 

The  story  is  a  romance  of  the  most  startling  character. 
.  .  .  exceedingly  amusing.  .  .  .  There  was  ample  time 
for  the  author  to  weave  into  his  story  several  pretty  love 
episodes  and  exciting  incidentals.  The  story  is  decidedly 
well  writen,  and  will  be  read  with  much  interest.— Philadel 
phia  Item. 

A  Daughter  of  Humanity.  By  Edgar  Maurice 
Smith.  A  story  of  the  life  of  girls  employed  in 
the  great  department  stores  which  have  become  a 
distinctive  feature  of  our  cities.  Those  who  pre 
fer  to  shut  their  eyes  to  unpleasant  facts  will  not 
care  for  this  book.  Those  who  believe  in  telling 
the  truth  and  in  seeking  a  remedy  for  wrongs  will 
find  in  it  much  food  for  thought.  Crown  octavo, 
317  pages,  cloth,  75  cents;  paper,  125  cents. 


BOOKS  OF  FICTION.  21 

In  "A  Daughter  of  Humanity"  we  have  a  simple  story 
simply  told,  of  the  temptations  and  perils  of  shop  girls  in  too 
many  of  our  great  stores,  where  starvation  wages  are  paid 
and  where  the  poor  girl  too  frequently  falls  into  the  toils  of 
lecherous  men  or  procuresses.  I  think  no  one  conversant 
with  the  facts  relating  to  this  painful  subject  will  accuse  the 
author  of  overdrawing  his  picture.  *  *  *  Suffice  it  to  say 
that,  while  written  in  a  simple  manner,  the  volume  deals  del 
icately  with  awful  crimes  which  do  exist,  and  the  high  and 
noble  purpose  of  the  author  is  evident  throughout.  It  is 
another  voice  in  the  call  to  conscience,  to  man's  higher  self— 
the  demand  for  a  nobler  civilization. — B.  O.  Flower. 

The  Juggernaut  of   the    Moderns.      By  Rosa 

Hudspeth.  The  title  of  this  novel  is  misleading 
in  that  it  suggests  heavy  reading,  while  in  fact  the 
story  is  full  of  action  and  movement  from  begin 
ning  to  end.  The  book,  like  all  other  novels 
worth  reading,  has  a  purpose,  but  the  author  does 
not  stop  to  point  out  her  moral;  she  tells  a  story 
that  irresistibly  carries  its  moral  with  it.  Read 
" The  Juggernaut  of  the  Moderns,"  and  you  will 
realize  the  iniquity  of  our  social  code  which 
crushes  a  woman's  life  in  penalty  for  an  offense 
which  in  a  man  is  lightly  condoned.  Crown  oc 
tavo,  327  pages,  cloth,  75  cents;  paper,  25  cents. 

The  Story  of  a  Dream.  By  Ethel  Maude  Colson. 
A  subtle  and  searching  story  founded  on  the  idea 
of  reincarnation.  The  scene  is  laid  partly  in 
Assyria  thirty  centuries  ago,  partly  in  modern 
Chicago.  The  same  leading  characters,  a  woman 
and  two  men,  appear  in  both,  and  the  wrongs  of 
the  first  life  meet  poetic  justice  in  the  second. 
Whether  the  thought  is  true  philosophy  or  only 
beautiful  myth,  the  reader  must  judge;  at  all 
events,  the  story  is  a  charming  one.  Cloth,  302 
pages,  $1.00. 

This  story  has  an  unusual  plot,  and  for  the  lovers  of  mysti 
cism,  it  has  a  strange  fascination.— Baltimore  American. 


22  BOOKS  OF  FICTION. 

Richly  colored  is  "The  Story  of  a  Dream  "  by  Ethel  Maude 
Colson.  The  imagination  has  been  given  full  play  and  in 
picturesque  phraseology  is  told  a  story  that  has  fairly  dreamed 
itself  out  of  the  gifted  author's  brain. — Columbia  Herald. 

A  delicate  study  *  *  *  wrought  out  with  much  poetic 
feeling  and  a  not  ordinary  gift  of  words.— Chicago  Evening 
Journal. 

A  most  charming  production  from  beginning  to  end,  as 
bright  as  the  haloed  mists  of  morning. — Banner  of  Light. 

Lovers  of  the  psychological,  whether  believers  in  the 
tenets  of  theosophy  or  not,  will  read  with  interest  this 
cleverly  written  story.— The  Open  Door. 

It  is  a  weird  tale  which  might  be  effectively  read  by  the 
firelight  in  the  gloaming,  or  at  the  witching  hour  when  dis 
embodied  spirits  hover  about  their  former  homes,  involun 
tarily  looking  over  our  shoulders  expecting  to  see  the  sad  face 
of  Father  Bertram  or  the  shadowy  form  of  the  Ishmaelitish 
maiden.  A  tender  story  within  a  story  is  that  of  "  Grey 
Angel,"  and  some  very  pretty  verses,  "The  Beautiful  Land  of 
Dreams,"  form  the  introduction  to  the  book.  The  small  vol 
ume  is  in  an  attractive  form  and  will  doubtless  find  many 
readers.— Saturday  Evening  Herald. 

Shylock's  Daughter.  A  novel.  By  Margaret 
Holmes  Bates.  It  is  one  of  the  brightest  and 
ablest  reform  novels  of  late  years.  It  is  by  a  prac 
tical  writer  who. brings  to  the  reform  cause  her  ex 
perience  and  reputation  gained  in  other  literary 
fields.  The  hero  of  the  story  is  a  talented  young 
farmer  elected  by  the  People's  Party  to  the  legis 
lature,  where  he  meets  Shylock  and  his  daughter. 
Cloth,  I2mo.,  146  pages,  75  cents;  paper,  25  cents. 

"  Shylock's  Daughter  "  is  another  instance,  among  multi 
plying  proofs,  of  the  interest  women  are  taking  in  public 
questions  of  late  years,  The  story  is  cleverly  written,  from 
the  People's  Party  stand-point — to  whose  cause  the  book  is 
dedicated.  The  drama  is  well  sustained,  and  the  author  has 
the  faculty  of  bringing  her  reader  into  hearty  sympathy  with 
the  personalities  of  her  story. 

The  description  of  the  campaign  and  the  denouement  of 
John's  nomination  is  exceedingly  well  told  ;  and  the  picture  of 
family  life  at  the  Longwood  home  is  very  pleasing  and 
natural.  I  fear  there  are  not  many  "society"  girls  who 
would  rise  to  the  occasion  as  does  Bertha  Rader;  and  per 
haps  few  young  men,  who,  in  John's  position,  would  prove 
faithful  to  the  public  trust  reposed  in  him,  as  did  he.  The 
sweet,  wholesome,  early  influences  of  home  show  finely  in 
the  outcome  of  his  manhood.  The  story  of  ••  the  strike  "  and  of 
the  midnight  "  mob  "  breaking  in  upon  the  ball  at  Mr.  Raber's 


B  O  OKS  OF  FIC  TION.  23 

palatial  residence  is  told  with  graphic  force.  Merely  as  a 
story,  the  book  will  prove  worth  reading,  to  those  who  look 
no  deeper;  to  those  who  do,  the  earlier  chapters  will  have 
special  interest  in  their  description  of  the  mortgaged  farmer 
and  the  large  land-owner,  whose  immense  holdings  of  idle 
land  put  the  industry  of  his  neighbors  to  such  disadvantage 
of  cultivation  and  marketing  facilities.— San  Francisco  Star. 


Any  book  in  this  list  will 
be  sent  to  any  address  post= 
paid  upon  receipt  of  price. 
Liberal  terms  to  booksellers 
and  agents 


CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY 

/ 

PUBLISHERS 

56  FIFTH  AVENUE 

• 

CHICAGO 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

TO— ^  202  Main  Library  642-3403 


LOAN  PERIOD  1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

LIBRARY  USE 

This  book  is  due  before  closing  time  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


,„....  DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

iJsa'ny  '. 

MAY   1 

Jit  war  1  5'gj 

,    1QQ1 

KO.CIB,    •** 

•_,     IOO  I 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6A,  20m,  1  1  778        BERKELEY  CA  94720 


YB   10193 


461763 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


r 

"hink  of  Starve 

THAT  is  the  alternative.   Do  not  longer 
deceived  by  well-worded  lies.    Read  ti 


truth.    It  will  pay  you 

)-DAY—  this  moment—you  are  being:  robbed  of  what 
you  earn.  How  much?  Not  less  than  $1,000  a  year. 
Do  you  know  how?  Do  you  know  why?  Read 


Formerly  NEW  OCCASIONS. 
REFORM  MAGAZINE  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEA! 

in  the  World.  Ten  Cents  a  Ntimber 

Monthly— Eighty  Pages. 

( B.  O.  FLOWER,  Founder  of  the  Arena, 
ditors:  |  FREDERICK  U.  ADAMS,  Editor  New  Occasion 

Fhe  New  Time  is  a  fearless  advocate  of  the  INITIATIVE  and  REFERENDUM,  M 
ity  Ruk,  Scientific  Government,  Monetary  Reform  and  Physical  and  Ethical  Culti 
Amonq  the  hundreds  of  brilliant  writers  who  will  regularly  contribute  to  its  pages  are: 

"     _  s~,  rr     o     T»s«™«^^  ftnn'itor  Pluinilli 


Prof.  Frank  Parsons. 
Henry  I).  Lloyd. 
Herbert  N.  Casson. 
Eltweed  Pomeroy. 
Hamlin  Gar  land. 
Justice  Walter  Clark. 
Eugene  V.  Debs. 


Gov.  H.  S.  Pingrree. 
Lillian  Whiting. 
A.  H.  Lewis. 
Prof.  Richard  T.  Ely, 
Senator  Tillmaii. 
Senator  Butler. 
Frances  E.  Willard. 


Senator  Chandler. 
Pres.  Geo.  A.  Gates. 
Mary  A.  Livermore. 
Abbv  Morton  Diax. 
John  P.  All  field. 
Helen  Cainpb   II. 
Senator  Pettigrew. 


SPECIAL  TO  YOU.    Send  15  two  cent  stamps  and  receive  THE  NEW  TIM, 
ree  months  and  PRESIDENT  JOHN  SMITH,  the  Story  of  a  Peaceful  Rcvolutu 
'Frederick  U.  Adams,  an  illustrated  book  of  290  pages  and  an  idea  on  every  pa, 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY,  Publishers, 
56  Fifth  Avenue,  Chicago* 


